AIRSHIP  MANUAL 


r 

v. 


D'ORCY'S 
AIRSHIP   MANUAL 


D'ORCY'S 

AIRSHIP    MANUAL 

AN   INTERNATIONAL  REGISTER  OF  AIRSHIPS 

WITH    A    COMPENDIUM    OF    THE    AIRSHIP'S 

ELEMENTARY   MECHANICS 

COMPILED  AND  EDITED 
BY 

LADISLAS   D'ORCY,   M.S.A.E. 


PUBLISHED    BY   THE    CENTURY   CO. 
NEW   YORK  :        MCMXVII 


COPYRIGHT,  1917,  BY 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


Published  October,  1917 


THE  ILLUSTRATIONS  ARE  FROM  SPECIAL  DRAWINGS  BY  GEO.  F.  MCLAUGHLIN. 

THE  PHOTOGRAPHS  ARE  KINDLY  LENT  BY  MR.  HENRY  WOODHOUSE  FROM  HIS  PRIVATE  COLLECTION. 


7 


A  la  Me'moire 

des  Ae'rostiers  de  la  Republique 

et  de  ses  Allies 

marts  pour  la 

Liberte  des  Peuples. 


To  the  Memory 

of  the  Aeronauts  of  the  French  Republic 

and  of  her  Allies 

who  died  for  the 

Freedom  of  the  Peoples. 


369966 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION 

ELEMENTARY  MECHANICS  OF  THE  AIRSHIP 
THE  AIRSHIP  IN  THE  GREAT  WAR 
I    THE  WORLD  AIRSHIP  BUILDERS      .      .      . 
II     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  PRODUCTION     .      . 

III  THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS      .      .      . 

IV  COMPARATIVE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  MILITARY 


PAGE 
I 


V    AIRSHIP  LOSSES  OF  THE  ALLIES 
VI     GERMANY'S  AIRSHIP  LOSSES 


PAGE 

199 

2OI 


VII    THE   GERMAN  AIRSHIP  RAIDS   ON  GREAT 

BRITAIN •     205 


AIRSHIP  FLEETS 


2 

39 
51 

l8S     VIII     THE  COMMERCIAL  AIRSHIP  FLEETS  OF  1914     209 

IX     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS    ....     313 

197  INDEX 229 


NOTICE 

In  compliance  with  the  recommendations  of  the  National  Advisory  Committee  for  Aeronautics, 
all  data  in  D'Orcy's  Airship  Manual  are  expressed  in  the  metric  system.  For  the  convenience  of  readers 
unfamiliar  with  the  metric  system  the  approximate  equivalents  of  the  metric  units  employed  are 
herewith  given  in  English  units: 

I  meter  (m.)  =  3%  feet. 
i  kilometer  (km.)    =  f  statute  mile. 
I  cubic  meter  (cbm.  or  me.)  =  353-  cubic  feet. 
'  I  kilogram  (kg.)  =  2^  pounds. 
I  metric  ton  =  2,200  pounds. 


INTRODUCTION 


The  present  volume  is  the  result  of  a  methodical 
investigation  extending  over  a  period  of  four  years 
in  the  course  of  which  many  hundreds  of  English, 
French,  Italian,  German  and  Spanish  publications 
and  periodicals  dealing  with  the  present  status  as 
well  as  with  the  early  history  of  airships  have  care- 
fully been  consulted  and  digested.  It  has  thus 
become  possible  to  gather  under  the  cover  of  a 
handy  reference-book  a  large  amount  of  hitherto 
widely  scattered  information  which,  having  mostly 
been  published  in, foreign  languages,  was  not  im- 
mediately available  to  the  English  speaking  public. 

The  information  thus  gathered  is  herewith  pre- 
sented in  two  parts;  one  being  a  compendium  of 
the  elementary  principles  underlying  the  construc- 
tion and  operation  of  airships,  the  other  constitut- 
ing an  exhaustive,  but  tersely  worded  register  of 
the  world's  airshipping  which  furnishes,  whenever 


available,  complete  data  for  every  airship  of  500 
cubic  meters  and  over,  that  has  been  laid  down 
since  1834.  Smaller  airships  are  listed  only  if  they 
embody  unusual  features. 

It  has  been  attempted  to  furnish  here  the  most 
up-to-date  information  regarding  the  gigantic  fleet 
of  airships  built  by  Germany  since  the  beginning 
of  the  Great  War,  a  feature  which  may,  in  a  certain 
measure,  repay  the  reader  for  the  utter  lack  of  data 
on  the  Allies'  recent  airship  constructions,  which 
had  to  be  withheld  for  military  reasons.  A  revised 
and  enlarged  edition  of  D'Orcy's  Airship  Manual, 
in  which  all  the  airships  built  during  the  Great 
War  will  be  listed  and  their  features  duly  discussed, 
will  be  issued  upon  the  termination  of  the  war. 

Ladislas  d'Orcy, 
New  York  City  (U.  S.  A.) 


ELEMENTARY  MECHANICS  OF  THE  AIRSHIP 


Definition  and  Classification. — The  airship  be- 
longs, with  its  immediate  forerunner,  the  free  bal- 
loon, to  the  family  of  static  aircraft. 

Static  aircraft  derive  their  sustentation  from  a 
hull  which  is  filled  with  a  gas  lighter  than  air ;  free 
balloons  and  airships  consequently  float  in  the 
atmosphere,  like  ships  float  on  the  sea,  by  virtue 
of  buoyancy. 

The  airship's  sustentation  is,  unlike  that  of  the 
aeroplane,  independent  of  forward  motion,  in  other 
words,  the  airship  can  stay  aloft  without  expending 
engine  power,  in  which  case  it  drifts  with  the  pre- 
vailing wind  like  a  free  balloon. 

The  airship  is  the  outcome  of  a  century-long 
endeavor  to  endow  the  free  balloon  with  inde- 
pendent velocity  whereby  it  would  be  able  to 
navigate  the  atmosphere  regardless  of  winds  in 
any  direction  desired;  hence  the  now  little  used 
terms  of  "navigable"  and  "dirigible  balloon" 
under  which  the  airship  first  became  known. 


The  very  nature  of  the  airship's  sustentation, 
which  permits  to  assimilate  the  airship  to  the 
ship  of  the  sea,  sufficiently  justifies  the  retention 
of  the  term  "airship"  and  the  condemnation  of 
the  term  "dirigible,"  the  customary  abbreviation 
of  "dirigible  balloon,"  which  may  reasonably  be 
applied  to  the  aeroplane  too,  since  it  fails  to  specify 
the  type  of  aircraft  it  is  supposed  to  describe. 

The  hitherto  customary  division  of  airships  into 
the  rigid,  semi-rigid,  and  non-rigid  types,  which 
was  based  on  primitive  and  now  obsolescent  con- 
ceptions, has  been  found  totally  inadequate  to  ex- 
press the  features  of  novel  sub-types  which  have 
more  recently  been  produced;  it  has  therefore  been 
deemed  advisable  to  adopt  a  new  nomenclature, 
based  on  the  constructional  features  of  the  hull 
which  alone  permit  fundamental  differentiation. 

Whereas  every  airship  hull  presents  to  the  rela- 
tive wind  an  essentially  rigid  body,  it  follows  that 
the  term  "  rigid  "  cannot  logically  be  applied  to 


one  particular  airship  type,  the  same  argument* 
"barring  also  the  terms  "  semi-rigid  "  and  "  non- 
rigid."  Consequently  all  airships  in  which  the 
shape  of  the  hull  is  rendered  permanent  by  means 
of  a  rigid  structure,  the  hull  frame,  are  here  termed 
structure  airships,  whereas  all  those  in  which  the 
shape  of  the  hull  is  maintained  through  internal 
pressure  are  here  listed  as  pressure  airships. 

Structure  Airships. — The  fundamental  principles 
of  the  structure  airship  were  first  laid  down  in  a. 
patent  taken  out  in  1873  DY  the  Alsatian  engineer 
Joseph  Spiess.  Twenty  years  later  David  Schwarz 
of  Zagreb  (Croatia)  built  at  Petrograd  a  structure 
airship  which  was  the  earliest  representative  of 
its  kind,  but  it  was  a  failure.  Shortly  afterwards 
Count  Ferdinand  von  Zeppelin,  a  German  cavalry 
general,  emulated  Schwarz,  whose  patents  he  had 
purchased,  and  eventually  succeeded  in  developing 
by  gradual  improvement  of  design  the  highly  effi- 
cient modern  structure  airship.  Structure  airships 
are  characterized  by  a  rigid  hull  frame  generally 
built  up  of  longitudinal  girders  which  are  connected 
at  intervals  by  polygonal  ties;  the  resulting  frame- 
work is  covered  with  a  waterproof,  but  non-gas- 
tight,  fabric  skin.  On  Zeppelin  airships  every  sec- 
ond tie  is  braced  athwartships  by  a  radial  wire  truss 
resembling  the  spokes  of  a  bicycle  wheel,  through 


the  hub  of  which  a  steel  hawser  runs  from  stem  to 
stern.  Both  the  hawser  and  the  radial  truss  wires 
are  fitted  with  turnbuckles  whereby  the  whole  frame- 
work may  be  tightened  up  when  required.  The 
radial,  or  tie,  trusses  form  the  compartments  in 
which  from  1 8  to  24  individual  gas-cells  are  housed; 
the  cells  are  drum-shaped  and  are  fitted  with  an 
inflation  appendix  and  a  relief-valve.  Owing  to 
the  constancy  of  displacement  realized  by  the  hull 
frame,  no  deformation  will  occur  through  a  con- 
traction of  the  hydrogen,  whereas  an  expansion 
of  the  gas  will  be  promptly  relieved  by  the  auto- 
matic and  manually  operated  valves;  but  as  the 
latter  process  may  create  an  explosive  mixture 
between  the  gas-cells  and  the  outer  cover,  it  is 
necessary  to  keep  this  space  constantly  ventilated 
by  forced  draught,  the  escaping  hydrogen  being 
expelled  through  shafts  leading  to  the  roof.  These 
shafts  are  fitted  with  automatic  valves  which  can 
also  be  manually  controlled. 

As  a  further  measure  of  precaution  recent  Zeppe- 
lin airships  have  the  lower  half  of  the  outer  skin 
treated  with  a  gas-proof  varnish  to  prevent  its  pene- 
tration by  the  heavy  and  impure  gas  collecting  in 
the  bottom  of  the  gas-cells,  which  on  coming  in 
contact  with  the  engine  exhaust  might  set  the 
vessel  on  fire. 


The  portions  of  the  hull  which  are  in  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  of  the  propellers  are  protected 
against  possible  injury  from  this  source  by  a  plating 
of  veneer. 

It  has  been  reported  that  on  the  latest  Zeppelin 
airships  the  gas-cells  are  connected  with  a  storage 
tank  whither  the  expanding  hydrogen  escapes 
under  rising  pressure  through  automatic  valves 
and  whence  it  can  be  pumped  back  into  the  gas- 
cells  when  the  hydrogen  contracts.  Whatever 
truth  there  be  in  this  so  far  unverified  statement, 
it  is  obvious  that  such  a  storage  tank  would  greatly 
obviate  the  structure  airships'  great  drawback  of 
losing  gas  and  consequently  lift  in  the  process  of 
regulating  variations  of  gas-pressure.  A  similar 
arrangement  incidentally  existed  on  the  first 
Schutte-Lanz  airship,  where  the  excess  of  gas  gen- 
erated by  rising  pressure  was  forced  by  means  of  a 
centrifugal  pump  into  two  gas-cells  which  remained 
empty  at  sea-level  pressure.  This  system  enabled 
the  airship  to  reach  an  altitude  of  2,000  meters 
without  any  loss  of  gas. 

The  Hull  Frame.— The  material  employed  in  the 
construction  of  hull  frames  is  either  a  zinc  aluminum 
alloy  or  wood.  The  former  is  used  in  Zeppelin  air- 
ships in  the  shape  of  triangular  lattice  girders, 
whereas  in  the  Schtitte-Lanz  airships  laminated 


wood  girders  are  employed.  The  wooden  girders 
of  the  Spiess  airship  were  of  tubular  form,  built 
in  halves  and  glued  together. 

The  longitudinals  and  polygonals  of  Zeppelin  air- 
ships are  built  up  of  punch-pressed  corner-rails  and 
X-pieces;  they  are  riveted  together  so  as  to  form 
triangular  girders.  The  only  authoritative  state- 
ment regarding  the  strength  and  weight  of  these 
girders  is  one  by  Count  Zeppelin  to  the  effect 
•that  on  his  first  airship  "  the  aluminum  which 
served  as  the  material  of  construction  had  a  specific 
weight  of  2.7  kg.  and  a  tensile  strength  of  33  kg. 
per  square  meter  of  surface.  The  frames  proper 
(longitudinals)  were  built  of  angle  and  T-bars  and 
the  bracing  girders  (polygonals)  of  angle  bars.  The 
weight  of  these  frames,  as  applied  to  the  construc- 
tion, was  '0.9  and  1.8  kg.  per  meter  length,  this 
being  equivalent  to  0.516  kg.  per  cubic  meter  of 
volume."  On  the  Zeppelin  airship  Sachsen,  built 
in  1913,  the  adoption  of  an  aluminum  alloy  of 
greater  tensile  strength  and  the  use  of  triangular 
girders  resulted  in  a  considerable  increase  in 
strength,  while  the  weight  per  meter  of  length 
was  reduced  by  0.13  kg. 

.  On  the  first  Schutte-Lanz  airship  the  hull  frame 
consisted  of  a  closely  meshed  lattice-work  of  lami- 
nated wood  girders,  spirally  wound  and  diagonally 


DIAGRAM  OF  AN   18,000  CBM.  ZEPPELIN  AIRSHIP,  THE  SCHWABEN  (STRUCTURE  TYPE). 

1-17  gas  cells;  a^a,  propeller  stays;  b  transmission  shaft;  di  forward  car;  d2  after  car;  d,  cabin  car;  h,,  h2  elevators;  ki,  k2,  k3  radiators 
1  gangway;  m  propeller  outrigger;  ni-n<  propellers;  Oi-o3  horizontal  planes;  02  vertical  plane;  p  rudder. 


crossed,  which  were  kept  under  tension  by  cir- 
cular ties  and  an  elaborate  steel  wire  trussing. 
This  framework  possessed  a  certain  amount  of 
springiness  which  constituted  a  valuable  asset  in 
the  case  of  a  rough  landing;  unfortunately  the 
time  and  cost  of  production  of  this  hull  proved  to 
be  so  great  that  it  had  to  be  abandoned  on  later 
ships  for  the  Zeppelin  type  of  construction,  though 
the  material  remained  the  same. 

Hull  Shapes. — One  of  the  most  important  items 
of  hull  design  is  that  of  the  shape,  for  this  deter- 
mines the  amount  of  air  resistance  that  must  be 
overcome,  the  most  favorable  shape  being  obvi- 
ously the  one  which  affords  the  greatest  power 
economy  and  develops  the  least  stresses  while  the 
airship  is  under  way.  The  first  requirement  is 
primarily  one  of  general  efficiency,  since  the  saving 
of  one  horse-power  reduces,  on  the  average,  the 
dead  and  live  loads  (weight  of  engine,  fuel,  oil,  and 
cooling  water)  by  3  kg.  per  hour  of  operation. 
The  saving  thus  effected  may  advantageously  be 
turned  into  an  increase  of  fuel,  ballast,  etc.,  and  is 
therefore  of  considerable  interest  to  the  airship- 
builder. 

The  stresses  developed  by  an  airship  hull  in  its 
progress  through  the  air  are  of  two  kinds :  compres- 
sion on  the  bow  through  impact  resistance,  and 


tension  on  the  sides  and  on  the  stern  through  fric- 
tional   resistance   and   suction,    respectively.      On 
structure  airships  these  stresses  are,  on  account  of 
the  rigid  hull  frame,  only  of  relative  importance, 
namely,  in  so  far  as  they  are  accompanied  by  para- 
site resistance  which  decreases  the  power  efficiency 
and  by  a  certain  wear  of  the  outer  cover.     Their 
value  is,  nevertheless,  considerable  enough,  for  the 
impact  resistance  of  an  airship  travelling  at  a  speed 
of  90  kilometers  per  hour  represents  a  pressure  of 
75  kg.  per  square  meter  of  projected  area,  that  is 
the  area  of  the  cross-section  at  the  master-diameter. 
On  pressure  airships,  where  the  hull  retains  its 
shape   exclusively   through   internal   pressure,    the 
question  of  using  a  hull  of  "streamline"  shape — that 
is,  of  easy  penetration — is,  on  the  contrary,  one  of 
primary  importance.     According  to  M.  Eiffel,  the 
air  resistance  which  a  pressure  airship  develops  in 
her  progress  through  the  air  causes  a  deformation  in 
the  hull  whereby  its  volume  may  increase  by  as 
much  as  10  per  cent,  of  its  displacement.     Since  to 
the  strain  caused  by  this  deformation,  which  tends 
to  weaken  the  envelope,  must  be  added  those  cre- 
ated by  the  excess  of  internal  pressure  as  well  as 
by  the  considerable  bending  moment  existing   in 
all  pressure  airships  (except  .in  those  of  the  tension 
truss  type),  it  follows  that  the  design  of  pressure 


DIAGRAM   OF   A    19,000   CBM.   SCHUTTE-LANZ   AIRSHIP,   THE   5.    L.    I.   (STRUCTURE  TYPE), 
forward  car;  G2  after  car;  Pj,  Pj  propellers;  HI  forward  elevator;  Hj  after  elevator;  Sti,  St3  stabilizer  planes;  Si,  82  rudders. 


Courtesy  of  The  Aeroplane. 

SPECIMEN   OF   A   ZEPPELIN   LATTICE-GIRDER. 
7 


airship  hulls  should  closely  follow  the  best  results 
arrived  at  through  laboratory  research  work. 

Aerodynamic  Notes  on  Hulls. — A  certain  diverg- 
ence of  views  exists  regarding  the  best  streamline 
shape  for  airship  hulls.  In  principle  the  most  effi- 
cient shape  appears  to  be  one  elliptical,  six  diam- 
eters long,  with  the  master-diameter  at  about 
from  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  length  aft  of  the  nose, 
the  bow  being  somewhat  blunter  than  the  stern. 
This  shape  is  the  one  proposed  by  the  British  and 
French  laboratories;  the  German  laboratory  sug- 
gests a  similar  shape  except  for  the  stern,  which 
should  taper  off  to  a  sharp  point.  The  principle  of 
the  dissymmetrical  shape  of  hull  was  first  laid  down 
by  the  Frenchman  Jullien,  who  built  in  1850  an 
airship  model  of  such  shape;  it  was  later  taken  up 
and  further  developed  by  Captain  Renard  of  the 
French  Army  Engineers,  who  built  the  celebrated 
airship  La  France.  Nowadays  this  shape  is  used 
on  all  but  the  Zeppelin  airships,  where  the  prevalent 
reason  for  building  the  hull  straight-sided  for  three- 
quarters  of  its  length  seems  to  be  facility  of  con- 
struction. Standardization  of  parts  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  hull  frame  thus  becomes  per- 
fectly feasible  for  Zeppelin  airships,  a  feature  well 
nigh  impossible  to  achieve  were  all  the  longitudinals 
of  different  curvature  and  all  polygonals  of  different 


diameter,  as  would  be  the  case  in  a  true  streamline 
shape  of  hull. 

Besides  reducing  the  air  resistance  to  be  over- 
come the  dissymmetrical,  fish-shaped  hull  has  the 
property  of  endowing  the  airship  with  a  certain 
amount  of  "weathercock  stability"  which  means 
that  the  vessel  will  tend  to  always  turn  into  the 
wind,  unless  otherwise  directed.  This  feature  is 
very  important,  because  a  solid  of  revolution  which 
progresses  in  the  direction  of  its  longitudinal  axis 
is  in  a  state  of  indifferent  equilibrium,  that  is  to 
say,  the  slightest  inclination  of  the  axis  suffices  to 
produce  a  turning  couple  which  may  cause  the  air- 
ship to  assume  a  vertical  position  relative  to  the 
ground. 

Nevertheless,  the  fish-shaped  hull,  even  when 
combined  with  fin  surfaces  abaft,  can  check  longi- 
tudinal instability  only  up  to  a  certain  speed,  called 
the  critical  speed,  which  varies  according  to  the 
radius  of  curvature  of  the  hull  and  the  angle  of 
inclination  to  the  horizontal. 

Pressure  Airships. — The  principal  feature  which 
distinguishes  pressure  airships  from  structure  air- 
ships is  that  in  the  former  the  hull  retains  its  shape 
through  the  agency  of  internal  pressure,  which  must 
exceed  the  atmospheric  pressure,  and  not  by  means 
of  a  hull  frame. 


8 


The  theory  of  the  pressure  airship  was  first 
enunciated  in  a  memorandum  which  General 
Meusnier  submitted  in  1784  to  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  and  in  which  he  incorporated  a  very 
comprehensive  design  of  a  pressure  airship.  "The 
Meusnier  design  was  indeed  a  creation  of  fundamen- 
tal importance  which,  for  want  of  engine  power,  had 
to  wait  upwards  of  a  century  before  it  could  be 
practically  employed. "  (Zahm.) 

The  first  pressure  airship  that  navigated — under 
limited  control — the  air  was  built  in  1852  by  Henri 
Giffard,  the  inventor  of  the  steam-injector.  This 
steam  propelled  airship  was  followed  in  1884  by 
Captain  Renard's  electrically  driven  La  France 
which  was  the  first  airship  to  make  a  return  voyage 
against  a  moderate  wind.  The  advent  of  the  in- 
ternal combustion  engine  completed  the  pressure 
airship's  conquest  of  the  aerial  ocean  in  1902  when 
Henri  Juillot  produced  the  gasoline  driven  "Lebaudy. 

The  Ballonnet. — Excess  of  pressure  is  generated 
on  most  pressure  airships  by  means  of  one  or  more 
ba'onnets,  or  bladders,  which  are  located  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hull  and  can  be  inflated  with  air  through 
a  fan-blower.  A  contraction  of  the  gas  and  the 
resulting  loss  of  volume  and  deformation  of  the 
hull  are  thus  compensated  for  by  an  expansion  of  the 
ballonnet ;  on  the  contrary,  an  expansion  of  the  gas 


beyond  a  certain  limit  (generally  30  mm.  of  water) 
will  open  the  ballonnet  valves  and  relieve  the  pres- 
sure without  loss  of  gas,  through  the  only  escape 
of  air.  Should,  however,  the  pressure  still  rise  in 
spite  of  the  open  ballonnet  valves  the  pressure  with- 
in the  hull  will  be  relieved  by  the  automatic  gas 
valves  which  are  generally  timed  to  open  at  35-40 
mm.  of  water. 

Both  gas  and  air  valves  are  of  the  spring-loaded 
type.  Some  airships  are  provided  with  gas  valves 
both  on  the  top  and  on  the  bottom  of  the  hull  in 
which  case  the  upper  ones  act  as  safety  valves  while 
the  lower  ones  serve  as  manoeuvre  valves.  This 
system  permits  to  expel  the  heavy,  impure  gas  col- 
lecting in  the  bottom  of  the  hull,  thus  saving  the 
pure  gas  for  further  service. 

Since  the  very  existence  of  a  pressure  airship  is 
dependent  upon  ability  to  maintain  the  shape  of 
the  hull  regardless  of  variations  of  atmospheric 
pressure  and  temperature,  it  follows  that  both  the 
ballonnet  and  the  relief -valves  must  have  a  sufficient 
capacity  effectively  to  compensate  sudden  changes 
of  buoyancy.  For  this  reason  it  is  also  customary 
to  employ  on  modern  airships  an  auxiliary  engine 
for  actuating  the  ballonnet-blower,  thus  making  the 
latter  independent  of  a  possible  breakdown  of  the 
main  power  plant. 


The  ballonnet  was  invented  in  1872  by  the  French 
naval  architect  Dupuy  de  Lome,  although  its  in- 
vention is  generally  accredited  to  General  Meusnier. 
The  latter  proposed  on  the  contrary  to  maintain 
the  tautness  of  the  hull  by  means  of  a  double  skin, 
the  internal  acting  as  a  gas-container  while  the 
external  skin  would  be  -nothing  but  a  protective 
cover.  The  continuous  air  space  between  the  two 
skins  would  not  only  allow  its  being  inflated  at  the 
excess  of  pressure  required,  but  would  also  give  the 
gas-container  an  efficient  insulation  against  varia- 
tions of  temperature. 

This  over-a-century-old  idea  has  lately  been  em- 
bodied with  marked  success  in  the  Forlanini  type 
of  airships.  There  the  gas  container  is  suitably 
trussed  to  the  outer  cover  so  that  both  will  maintain 
their  correct  relative  position.  Excess  of  pressure 
within  the  air  space  is  generated  in  two  ways.  When 
the  airship  is  under  way  an  intake  valve  fitted  to 
the  nose  of  the  hull  admits  and  distributes  the  on- 
rushing  air  to  the  air  space  whence  it  escapes 
through  a  relief  valve  mounted  on  the  stern,  the 
amount  of  internal  pressure  being  regulated  by  the 
greater  or  lesser  aperture  of  the  relief  valve.  Thanks 
to  this  arrangement  the  air  circulates  all  the  time 
around  the  gas-container  and  effectively  prevents 
the  leaking  hydrogen  from  creating  an  explosive 


mixture.  When  the  engines  are  stopped  excess  of 
pressure  is  generated  in  the  usual  way,  that  is,  by 
means  of  a  fan-blower. 

Rubberized  Fabric. — The  considerable  stresses  to 
which  the  hull  of  pressure  airships  is  subjected  have 
brought  about  the  adoption  of  rubberized  fabric  of 
high  tensile  strength.  On  Parseval  airships  of  over 
8,000  cubic  meter  volume  the  fabric  is  tested  to 
withstand  a  pressure  of  2  metric  tons  per  square 
meter  of  surface.  For  this  purpose  diagonal  doubling 
is  resorted  to,  which  consists  in  building  up  the 
fabric  of  two  or  three  layers,  the  threads  of  which 
diagonally  oppose  each  other. 

To  counteract  the  destructive  influence  of  sun- 
light on  rubberized  fabric  the  latter  is  generally 
treated  on  the  outside  with  chrome  yellow  or 
aluminum  paint.  Hence  the  yellow  or  silvery  color 
of  most  airship  hulls. 

Airships  whose  outer  cover  is  made  of  rubberized 
fabric  are  subject  to  danger  of  fire  from  self -electri- 
fication because  this  material  quickly  becomes  elec- 
trified in  dry  air.  "When  rolled  up  or  creased  in  any 
way  it  rustles  and  gives  out  electric  sparks,  the  latter 
being  clearly  visible  in  the  dark."  (Moedebeck.) 

This  danger  is  particularly  characteristic  of  pres- 
sure airships  where  insufficient  tautness  of  the  rub- 
berized envelope  and  gas  leakage  may  combine  to 


ii 


\ 


cause  disastrous  results.  On  structure  airships 
this  danger  is  greatly  lessened  by  the  use  of  non- 
rubberized  fabric  in  the  outer  cover. 

To  prevent  self-electrification  airship  fabrics 
built  up  of  several  layers  of  diagonally  doubled  and 
specially  gummed  and  varnished  silk  have  more 
recently  been  used  to  good  effect. 

"Gas  Tightness"  of  Fabrics.— The  rubberized  fab- 
ric used  in  airship  hulls  is  theoretically  gas-tight ;  in 
practice,  however,  as  hydrogen  absorbs  the  air  and 
diffuses  through  osmosis,  allowance  must  be  made 
for  a  daily  leakage  of  from  one  half  to  one  per  cent, 
of  the  volume.  The  only  really  gas-tight  material 
is  gold-beater's  skin,  which  is  used  in  the  gas-cells 
of  Zeppelin  airships ;  unfortunately  this  material  has 
a  .low  tensile  strength  and  is,  furthermore,  not  as 
impervious  against  water  as  it  is  against  gas  so 
that  it  cannot  be  employed  to  advantage  in  the  con- 
struction of  pressure  hulls.  On  structure  airships, 
where  there  is  an  outer  cover  to  protect  the  gas- 
cells  against  the  weather,  the  use  of  gold-beater's 
skin  is,  on  the  contrary,  very  satisfactory,  although 
its  cost  is  very  high. 

The  Ripping  Panel. — All  pressure  airships  are 
provided  with  a  ripping  panel  whereby  the  hull  can 
almost  instantly  be  deflated,  should  the  wind  prove 
too  strong  to  permit  mooring  in  the  open. 


The  ripping  panel,  of  which  there  may  be  several 
on  a  large  airship,  consists  of  a  strip  of  rubberized 
fabric  which  is  applied  over  a  vertical  seam  in  the 
hull.  It  is  operated  by  a  ripping  cord  which  its 
bright  red  color  easily  distinguishes  from  the  rest 
of  the  operating  cords. 

The  system  of  construction  of  structure  airships 
obviously  prohibits  the  use  of  a  ripping  panel. 

The  Understructure  of  Pressure  Airships. — The 
understructure  of  an  airship  is  the  part  situated 
underneath  the  hull  proper,  which  affords  accommo- 
dation for  the  machinery  (engines,  transmission, 
propellers,  fuel,  oil,  and  water-tanks,  dynamo, 
ballonet-blower,  etc.)  and  the  crew. 

The  machinery  and  crew  are  housed  on  most 
pressure  airships  in  one  'or  more  cars  which  are 
suspended  from  the  hull  by  means  of  rigging  guys, 
whereas  on  most  structure  airships  the  cars  are 
rigidly  connected  with  the  hull  frame. 

According  to  their  system  of  suspension,  pressure 
airships  may  be  divided  into  the  following  sub- 
types : 

(i)  The  girderless  type,  in  which  the  load,  rep- 
resented by  a  short  car,  is  directly  distributed  over 
the  hull  by  means  of  steel  cables  ending  at  the  top 
in  crow's  feet  of  flax  rope,  which  are  toggled  to  a 
rigging  band  of  canvas,  sewn  upon  the  bottom  of  the 


12 


hull .  The  rigging  band  may  further  be  strengthened 
by  canvas  belts  passing  around  the  hull.  This  type 
was  originated  by  Major  von  Parseval. 

(2)  The  car-girder  type,  originated  by  the  late 
Colonel  Renard,  in  which  the  load  is  distributed 
over  the  hull  by  means  of  a  trellis  girder,  extending 
up  to  two  thirds  the  length  of  the  hull,  which  is  sus- 
pended by  a  rigging  similar  to  the  one  above  de- 
scribed, although  the  rigging  band  may  be  omitted. 
Only  part  of  the  girder  is  fitted  as  a  car  proper  in 
this  case,  the  great  length  of  the  girder  serving 
primarily  to  reduce  the  bending  moment.     A  diverg- 
ent application  of  this  principle  consists  in  fitting  a 
short  car  with  fore-and-aft  outriggers,  which  serve 
the  same  purpose  as  a  trellis  girder,  with  a  consid- 
erable saving  of  weight,  however. 

(3)  The  keel-girder  type,  in  which  the  load,  rep- 
resented by  a  short  car,  is  distributed  over  the  hull 
by  means  of  a  girder,  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the 
hull,   from   which   the   car   is   suspended.      There 
exist    many    divergent    applications   of   the   keel- 
girder  principle. 

On  the  original  keel-girder  airship,  the  Lebaudy, 
designed  by  the  eminent  French  aeronautic  expert, 
M.  Henri  Juillot,  the  girder  consisted  of  an  oval 
platform  of  steel  tubing  which  was  built  into  the 
underside  of  the  hull  and  held  in  place  by  internal 


crow's  feet.  On  a  later  ship,  the  Morning  Post, 
the  girder  was  long  and  narrow,  built  in  two  pieces, 
hinged  and  suspended  a  short  distance  from  the 
hull.  The  Gross-Basenach  airships  (Prussian  Army 
Airship  Works)  are  built  on  the  same  principle. 

The  considerable  head-resistance  such  a  sus- 
pension generates  led  Italian  airship-builders  to 
seek  and  find  a  different  solution  of  the  problem. 
In  the  Italian  Army  airships,  designed  by  Captains 
Crocco  and  Ricaldoni,  the  so-called  "-girder"  is 
nothing  but  a  Gall's  chain  of  considerable  propor- 
tions, which  is  inserted  between  two  layers  of  fabric 
on  the  bottom  of  the  hull.  Thanks  to  its  being 
articulated,  this  girder  closely  follows  the  hull's 
curvature,  allowing  for  longitudinal,  but  not  for 
lateral,  play.  It  realizes  a  method  of  suspension 
which  gives  for  the  same  amount  of  air  resistance 
a  better  distribution  of  load  than  the  girderless 
type  of  airship,  which  it  outwardly  resembles. 

On  all  the  foregoing  keel-girder  airships  the  car 
is  suspended  a  considerable  distance  below  the  hull 
by  a  rigging  of  steel  cables. 

The  minimum  of  air  resistance  not  only  for  the 
keel-girder  type,  but  for  any  pressure  airship  as  well, 
is  attained  on  the  Forlanini  airships.  There  the 
cable  rigging  is  entirely  done  away  with,  for  the  car 
is  closely  adherent  to  the  hull.  The  keel-girder,  to 


DIAGRAM   OF   THE   7,000   CBM.    LEBAUDY   AIRSHIP    CAPITAINE-MARCHAL   (KEEL-GIRDER,   PRESSURE  TYPE). 

H  gas  container;  B  ballonnet;  C  girder;  M  car;  P  air  discharge  pipe;  Ho  elevator;  T  fuel  tank;  F  landing  pyramid;  S  rudder;  Gli-3 
stabilizer  planes;  e  ballonnet  partitions. 


which  the  car  is  rigidly  connected,  consists  of  a 
triangular  lattice-work  of  steel  tubing  which  follows 
the  curvature  of  the  hull's  underside  from  stem  to 
stern.  The  front  end  serves  to  stiffen  the  nose  and 
holds  the  air  intake  valve  in  place ;  the  rear  end  car- 
ries the  steering  group.  This  girder,  which  is  en- 
tirely rigid,  is  inserted  into  a  longitudinal  slot  pro- 
vided in  the  hull  and  is  supported  by  a  crow's  feet 
rigging  from  a  suspension  band  which  is  situated  in 
the  centre-line  of  the  hull. 

(4)  The  tension-truss  type,  created  by  the  Span- 
ish engineer  Leonardo  Torres-Quevedo,  in  which 
the  load  is  distributed  over  a  hull  of  trefoil  section 
by  means  of  a  flexible  truss  contained  within  and  a 
cable  rigging  attached  thereto. 

The  tension  truss  consists  of  three  cables,  run- 
ning from  bow  to  stern,  which  are  carried  in  fabric 
pockets  sewn  to  the  hull  at  the  intersection  lines 
of  the  three  lobes,  and  are  trussed  to  one  another 
by  flax  ropes  and  fabric  strips.  When  the  hull  is 
under  pressure,  the  truss  is  under  tension  and  acts 
as  a  perfectly  rigid  girder,  which  distributes  the  load 
of  the  car  or  cars  uniformly  over  the  entire  hull. 
The  car  is  hung  to 'this  girder  by  a  limited  number 
of  cables,  the  crow's  feet  of  which  are  toggled 
within  the  hull  to  the  lower  sides  of  the  triangular 
girder.  Thanks  to  this  feature,  not  only  is  the 


air  resistance  reduced  to  a  great  extent,  but  large 
airships  of  this  type  can  be  kept  rigid  when  under 
way  with  an  excess  of  pressure  of  only  .15  mm. 
of  water,  whereas  all  other  pressure  airships  require 
an  average  pressure  of  from  25  to  30  mm.  of  water. 

It  is  obvious  that,  since  the  load  is  evenly  dis- 
tributed over  the  hull,  each  portion  of  buoyancy 
carrying  a  proportionate  amount  of  load,  the  bend- 
ing moment  will  come  very  near  being  nil,  which 
is  the  ideal  condition  sought.  Furthermore,  owing 
to  the  much  lower  internal  pressure  required,  the 
hull  is  subjected  to  stresses  and  strains  of  much 
smaller  value  than  on  other  pressure  airships;  con- 
sequently the  life  of  the  hull  is  increased,  and 
lighter  fabric  can  be  used  in  its  manufacture. 

The  only  apparent  drawback  of  the  "poly lobe" 
hull  is  that  the  surface  area  exposed  to  the  relative 
wind  is  greater  than  for  a  hull  of  circular  cross- 
section,  so  that  the  skin  friction  is  proportionately 
increased. 

The  Understructure  of  Zeppelins. — The  above 
considerations  hold  true  to  an  even  greater  extent 
in  the  case  of  structure  airships.  There  the  hull 
frame  forms  a  permanently  rigid  girder  over 
which  the  loads  can  more  uniformly  be  distrib- 
uted than  over  a  pressure  hull.  One  can  dismiss 
with  a  few  words  the  Schutte-Lanz  type,  in  which 


the  hull  carries  the  cars  on  a  cable  suspension, 
since  it  embodies  one  great  drawback  of  pressure 
a^ships  the  avoidance  of  which  should  be  and  is 
one  of  the  principal  points  in  favor  of  true  structure 
airships.  This  drawback  is  the  position  of  the  pro- 
pellers, which  are,  except  in  the  case  of  the  For- 
lanini  airships,  applied  too.  far  beneath  the  centre 
of  resistance.  As  a  consequence,  airships  of  the 
suspended-car  type  have  a  tendency  to  drag  the 
hull  behind,  thus  causing  disturbing  couples,  which 
must  constantly  be  corrected  by  the  control  organs. 
On  true  structure  airships,  such  as  the  Zeppelin, 
the  cars  are  rigidly  connected  with  the  hull  and  at 
but  a  little  distance,  so  that  the  propulsive  apparatus 
can  furnish  its  maximum  of  efficiency.  Prior  to 
the  Great  War  the  Zeppelin  airships  had  a  V-shaped 
keel  protruding  from  underneath  the  hull,  which 
formed  the  vessel's  backbone  and  was  fitted  as  a 
gangway  affording  passage  between  the  engine  cars. 
In  the  gangway  there  were  the  fuel-  and  oil-tanks, 
which  fed  the  Maybach  engines,  these  driving  two 
sets  of.  twin-screws  stayed  on  outriggers.  In  the 
middle  the  gangway  flared  out  and  formed  a  spa- 
cious compartment  which  served  on  passenger  air- 
ships as  a  cabin-car,  seating  twenty -four;  on  mili- 
tary airships  the  compartment  was  divided  into  a 
wardroom  for  the  convenience  of  the  officers,  quar- 


ters fitted  with  hammocks  for  the  crew,  a  wireless 
room,  and  a  photographic  cabinet.  Lavatories  were 
provided  on  both  types  of  airships. 

A  lookout  post,  permitting  astronomical  observa- 
tion as  well  as  the  mounting  of  aeroplane-defense 
guns,  was  provided  on  the  top  of  the  hull,  near  the 
bow.  This  platform,  about  three  meters  square  and 
provided  with -a  hand-rail,  communicated  with  the 
forward  car  by  means  of  a  stairway  which  was  in- 
closed in  a  shaft  of  aluminum  plating  and  led  right 
through  the  hull  between  two  gas-cells. 

On  the  latest  known  type  of  Zeppelin  various 
alterations  are  embodied  in  the  understructure. 
The  V-shaped  keel  no  longer  protrudes  from  the 
hull;  the  bottom  is  flat,  and  the  gangway  is  built  up 
within  the  hull  in  the  form  of  an  inverted  V.  Ob- 
viously a  corresponding  portion  of  the  drum-shaped 
gas-cells  is  cut  away.  The  cars  number  four  and 
are  arranged  crosswise:  the  fore  and  aft  cars  ar£ 
coaxial,  the  remaining  two  cars,  nicknamed  "power- 
eggs,"  being  mounted  amidships  right  and  left  of 
the  hull.  The  classic  double  twin-screw  drive  of 
ante-bellum  Zeppelins  is  displaced  by  four  pusher- 
screws,  of  which  there  is  one  on  each  car,  each  being 
driven  through  a  clutch  and  change-speed  gear  by 
a  240  h.p.  Maybach  engine.  The  after  car  houses, 
however,  two  more  such  engines,  which  drive 
16 


through"  bevel  gear  shafts  a  pair  of  twin-screws 
stayed  on  outriggers. 

The  cars  are  built  up  of  lattice  girders  similar  to 
those  used  in  the  hull  frame,  and  are  covered  with 
corrugated  aluminum  sheeting  2  mm.  thick. 

The  forward  car  comprises  three  compartments; 
the  one  foremost  serves  as  a  chart-room  and  com- 
mander's cabin,  next  to  which  comes. a  small  wire- 
less room,  the  rear  compartment  constituting  the 
first  engine-room.  The  "power-eggs"  and  the  after 
car  serve  chiefly  as  engine-rooms ;  the  after  car  may 
also  afford  quarters  for  the  crew. 

There  are  two  gun  emplacements  on  the  roof, 
one,  near  the  bow,  mounting  two  12  mm.  guns  on 
collapsible  tripods  and  affording  to  each  gun  an  arc 
of  fire  of  1 80  degrees  from  the  center  line,  and  one 
near  the  stern,  aft  of  the  rudder,  mounting  a  Maxim. 
Six  more  guns  of  this  type  are  mounted  on  the  cars ; 
namely,  two  each  on  the  fore  and  aft  cars,  and  one 
each  on  the  "power-eggs."  Sixty  bombs  are  carried 
amidships  on  two  racks  situated  underneath  the 
gangway.  The  bombs  are  released  by  an  electro- 
magnetic gear  from  a  switchboard  in  the  chart-room. 
The  release  device  can  also  be  worked  by  hand, 
though  in  either  case  a  sliding  shutter  must  first  be 
opened  to  allow  the  bombs  to  drop. 

Stability,   Trim,   and  Steering. — An  airship   is, 


when  in  motion,  subject  to  rotation  around  "three 
axes,  transverse,  vertical,  and  longitudinal,  which 
cause  the  airship  to  assume  oscillating  movements. 
.  These  are,  respectively,  rotting,  yawing  and  pitching 
and  in  order  to  keep  an  airship  to  a  true  course  it  is 
necessary  to  possess  means  with  which  to  check 
these  oscillations. 

Rolling  is  automatically  checked  on  all  airships 
by  having  the  load  underneath  the  lift,  thus 
placing  the  centre  of  gravity  below  the  centre  of 
buoyancy. 

Yawing  is  counterbalanced  on  all  modern  air- 
ships by  means  of  vertical  fins,  and  pitching  by 
means  of  horizontal  fins.  It  is  customary  to  mount 
these  fins  directly  on  the  hull,  near  the  stern,  or  a 
little  distance  below  it  so  as  to  bring  them  in  line 
with,  and  a  great  distance  from,  the  centre  of  resis- 
tance. In  this  respect  structure  airships  possess  a 
distinct  advantage  over  pressure  airships  in  that 
the  fins  may  be  rigidly  mounted  on  the  hull  frame, 
whereas  on  a  pressure  hull  the  fins  must  be  stayed 
by  an  elaborate  truss,  which  is  furthermore  depend- 
ent for  its  rigidity  upon  the  hull's  ability  to  main- 
tain its  shape.  This  is  why  on  most  keel-girder 
airships  the  keel-girder  extends  far  back  along  the 
hull  and  carries  the  stabilizing  fins,  a  solution  which 
must  unreservedly  be  preferred  to  that,  customary 


DIAGRAM    OF   THE   P.   TYPE   AIRSHIPS    OF    THE    ITALIAN    ARMY    AIRCRAFT   WORKS    (KEEL-GIRDER  PRES- 
SURE  TYPE). 

V  gas  valve;  B  ballonnet;  G  car;  St  stabilizer  and  rudder;  aa  articulated  keel-girder,  carried  in  pocket  bb;  cc  keel-girder  links. 

In  the  left-hand  corner  a  plan  view  of  part  of  the  keel-girder. 


18 


on  car-girder  airships,  of  mounting  the  fins  on  the 
end  of  the  girder  a  considerable  distance  below  the 
hull. 

The  tendency  in  fin  design  is  at  present  toward 
simplification,  such  as  is  displayed  by  the  cross- 
shaped  fins,  which  are  gradually  displacing  the  mul- 
tiplane and  cellular  fins  of  the  last  few  years  and 
the  inflated  fins  of  still-earlier  days.  The  raison 
d'etre  of  the  latter  was  chiefly  their  ability  to  lift 
their  own  weight;  inflated  fins  did  not,  however, 
prove  of  efficient  action  and  greatly  increased  the 
air  resistance. 

The  steering  of  an  airship  in  the  horizontal  plane 
— that  is,  sidewise — is  effected  by  means  of  a  rudder 
similar  to  that  used  on  ships.  This  rudder  is  gen- 
erally of  the  balanced  type,  to  facilitate  manual 
control,  and  is  mounted  in  the  wake  of  the  vertical 
fin.  In  some  cases  multiplane  rudders  are  em- 
ployed. Steering  sidewise  may  also  be  assisted  by 
swivelling-screws. 

Steering,  in  the  vertical  plane — that  is,  up  and 
down — is  effected  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  An 
airship  can  ascend  through  purely  statical  means, 
like  a  spherical  balloon,  by  jettisoning  ballast;  but 
this  manoeuvre  is  never  made  use  of  alone,  because 
it  is  slow  and  involves  much  loss  of  ballast.  The 
proper  way  for  an  airship  to  ascend  is  to  alter  its 


trim,  whereby  the  bow  will  point  upward,  so  that  the 
pull  of  the  air-screws  will  be  applied  at  an  angle  to 
the  horizontal.  It  is  true  that  the  latter  object 
may  be  attained  without  change  of  trim  by  means 
of  swivelling  screws,  which  can  be  inclined  at  the 
angle  desired;  but  this  kind  of  ascent  is  highly  in- 
efficient, because  it  increases  to  an  appreciable  ex- 
tent the  projected  area  of  the  hull  relative  to  the 
line  of  flight,  thus  creating  additional  air  resistance. 
Changes  of  trim  can  be  effected  by  static  or  dy- 
namic means,  or  by  a  combination  of  both.  Static 
control  of  trim  may  be  attained  through  a  shifting 
of  the  centre  of  buoyancy  or  of  the  centre  of  grav- 
ity. In  the  first  case  the  hull  is  provided  with  two 
ballonnets  which  can  respectively  be  pumped  full  of 
air ;  thus,  for  ascending  the  rear  ballonnet  is  pumped 
full  and  the  front  ballonnet  emptied,  and  vice-versa. 
The  difference  between  the  specific  weights  of  hy- 
drogen and  air  causes — in  the  ascent — the  centre 
of  buoyancy  to  move  forward,  which  in  its  turn 
raises  the  nose  of  the  airship.  This  is  the  system 
employed  on  the  Parseval  and  Gross-Basenach  air- 
ships; it  is  worth  noting  that  on  both  types  addi- 
tional trim  control  is  secured  by  a  simultaneous 
shifting  of  the  centre  of  gravity.  On  the  Parseval 
airships  this  is  effected  by  the  car  itself,  which  can 
move  back  and  forth  a  distance  of  0.75  m.,  owing  to 


the  car's  main  stays  passing  under  rollers.  This 
fore-and-aft  motion  is  limited  by  appropriate  an- 
chor-stays. On  the  Gross-Basenach  airships  the 
centre  of  gravity  is  displaced  by  trimming-tanks, 
which  are  filled  and  emptied  by  compressed  air. 
The  double-ballonnet  system,  besides  being  of  very 
efficient  action,  has  the  further  advantage  of  afford- 
ing means  for  checking  the  disequilibrating  moments 
which  the  sudden  surging  of  hydrogen  toward  the 
high  side  may  generate.  Additional  means  for 
checking  this  tendency  are  found  on  most  pressure 
airships  in  the  form  of  fabric  partitions. 

The  trim  can  also  be  controlled  by  dynamic 
means  through  the  use  of  lifting  planes  (elevators) 
which  raise  or  depress  the  airship's  nose  by  virtue 
of  the  pressure  onrushing  air  exerts  upon  them. 
This  system  is  principally  employed  on  structure 
airships  where  the  under  side  of  the  hull  affords  a 
considerable  amount  of  lifting  surface  when  in- 
clined to  the  line  of  flight.  On  a  20  ton  Zeppelin 
airship  2  tons  may  thus  be  added  to  the  static  lift, 
in  which  case  the  airship  is,  at  the  moment  of  start- 
ing, actually  heavier  than  air. 

On  the  Zeppelin  airships  the  action  of  the  lifting 
planes  is  seconded  by  static  trim  control.  Prior 
to  the  war  this  was  effected  by  a  shifting  of  the 
center  of  gravity.  For  this  purpose  the  gangway 


of  the  early  Zeppelins  was  fitted  with  a  track  on 
which  a  small  lorrie  carrying  tools  and  spare  parts 
could  be  moved  back  and  forth.  This  primitive 
system  was  discarded  in  1909  in  favor  of  water- 
ballast  trim,  the  water  being  carried  in  rubber  bags 
which  were  suspended  in  the  gangway.  On  the 
latest  known  Zeppelins  the  trim  appears  to  be  also 
controlled  by  a  displacement  of  the  center  of  buoy- 
ancy, each  gas-cell  being  provided  with  a  ballonnet 
whereby  the  volume  of  gas  can  be  increased  or 
reduced  at  will.  Since  the  low  tensile  strength  of 
gold-beaters'  skin,  which  is  the  material  used  in 
the  gas-cells,  does  not  permit  the  storage  of  hydro- 
gen under  pressure,  all  excess  or  deficiency  of  gas 
is  regulated  by  the  aforementioned  compensating 
tank  (see  p.  4).  This  system,  which  is  nothing 
but  an  application  of  Parseval's  double-ballonnet 
system  to  the  cellular  construction,  appears  on  the 
main  as  very  efficient,  for  the  ascensional  speed 
of  the  latest  Zeppelins  is  given  by  Swiss  publica- 
tions as  being  a  thousand  meters  in  three  minutes, 
two  thousand  meters  in  eight  minutes,  and  three 
thousand  meters  in  fifteen  minutes. 

Volume,  Displacement  and  Lift. — It  has  been 
said  before  that  an  airship  floats  in  the  aerial 
ocean,  as  ships  float  on  the  sea,  by  virtue  of  buoy- 
ancy. A  clear  comprehension  of  the  laws  of  the 


DIAGRAM   OF   THE   9,000   CBM.    ASTRA   AIRSHIP   ADJUDANT-REAU   (CAR-GIRDER    PRESSURE   TYPE). 

A  envelope;  B  ballonnet;  C  stabilizer  planes;  D  air  valve;  E  gas  valve;  F  elevator;  H  tractor  screw;  I  side  propeller;  K  transmission; 
M  engine;  N  fuel  tank;  O  oil  tank;  P  chart  room;  Q  instrument  board;  R  engine  room;  S  passenger  compartment;  T  landing  carriage; 
U  ripping  panel. 


21 


atmosphere  is  absolutely  essential  for  understand- 
ing and  comparing  airship  performances.  It  will 
therefore  repay  the  reader  to  read  the  present 
chapter  in  its  entirety. 

At  normal  barometric  pressure  (760  mm.)  and 
o°  Centigrade  I  cubic  meter  (cbm.)  of  air  weighs 
1 .293  kg. ;  an  airship  of  6,000  cbm.  volume  displaces 
consequently  (6000X1.293  =  )  7758  kg.  of  air,  or, 
roughly,  7.8  metric  tons.  This  tonnage,  called  the 
normal  displacement  of  an  airship,  affords  the  most 
convenient  means  of  comparison  between  airships, 
because  it  is  applicable  to  both  the  metric  and 
English  systems  of  measurement,  and  also  because 
it  permits  the  use  of  small  values.  The  latter  ad- 
vantage is  particularly  striking  in  the  English 
measures,  where  an  airship  of  6,000  cbm.  volume, 
which  is  a  small  vessel,  is  expressed  in  the  imposing 
form  of  211,800  cubic  feet. 

Under  the  above-mentioned  normal  atmospheric 
conditions  I  cbm.  of  pure  hydrogen  weighs  0.090 
kg.;  that  is,  approximately  1.2  kg.  less  than  an 
equal  volume  of  air.  For  practical  purposes  the 
latter  figure  should,  however,  be  reduced  to  i.i 
kg.,  because  hydrogen  cannot  be  produced  in  a 
totally  pure  state,  and  also  on  account  of  the  par- 
tial deterioration  (diffusion)  of  this  gas  under  the 
influence  of  the  air. 


The  difference  between  the  weights  of  equal 
volumes  of  air  and  hydrogen  generates  an  equiva- 
lent lifting  force  which  is  caused  by  the  upward 
pressure  the  displaced  air  exerts  upon  the  hydrogen. 
It  follows  from  the  foregoing  that  I  cbm.  of  com- 
mercial hydrogen  possesses  a  normal  lifting  force, 
or  "lift,"  of  i.i  kg.  An  airship  of  6,000  cbm. 
volume  has  thus  a  normal  lift  of  6,600  kg.,  or  6.6 
tons.  By  subtracting  the  lift  of  an  airship  from 
its  displacement  we  obtain  the  weight  of  the  hydro- 
gen contained  in  the  hull.  In  the  case  of  the  above 
airship  we  have: 

Displacement 7.8  tons 

Lift.  .  .  .  .6.6  tons 


Weight  of  hydrogen i  .2  tons 

Coal-gas,  which  is  currently  used  for  inflating 
free  balloons,  is  much  cheaper  and  much  less  in- 
flammable than  hydrogen.  It  is,  nevertheless,  but 
little  employed  in  airships,  on  account  of  its  greater 
weight  and  obviously  lesser  lift.  Coal-gas  weighs, 
according  to  its  degree  of  purity,  from  0.520  to 
0.650  kg.  per  cubic  meter. 

It  is  customary  to  express  the  degree  of  purity 
of  a  gas  in  terms  of  specific  weight.  In  that  case 
the  normal  weight  of  I  cbm.  of  air  is  assumed  to 
be  the  unit  in  terms  of  which  the  weight  of  the  gas 


22 


is  expressed.  Thus,  for  instance,  a  specific  weight 
of  0.15  means  that  a  given  volume  of  gas  is  0.15 
times  heavier  than  an  equal  volume1  of  air.  Its 
actual  weight  is  therefore  0.15  X  1.293  =  0.1935 
kg.,  and  its  lift  1. 2931*  0.1935  =  1.0995  kS-.  or 
approximately  i.l  kg.  per  cubic  meter. 

The  lift  of  an  airship,  as  obtained  by  subtracting 
the  weight  of  the  contained  hydrogen  from  that  of 
the  displaced  air,  gives  the  maximum  weight  an 
airship  can  lift  for  a  given  volume.  The  gross  lift, 
therefore,  comprises  the  weights  of  the  hull,  the 
under  structure,  the  machinery,  and  the  equipment. 
The  difference  between  these  weights  and  the  total 
lift  gives  the  useful  load,  which  is  made  up  of  the 
fuel  supply,  the  crew,  and  the  military  or  commercial 
load. 

The  Static  Attitude  of  Airships.— The  lift  of  an 
airship  may  be  considerably  influenced  by  varia- 
tions of  atmospheric  pressure  and  temperature; 
hence  all  statistics  of  airships  are  based  upon 
normal  displacement  and  normal  lift;  that  is,  at 
760  mm.  barometric  pressure  and  o°  Centigrade. 

Whenever  the  altitude  above  sea-level  increases 
by  80  meters,  the  atmospheric  pressure  decreases 
by  one  per  cent.  The  corresponding  expansion  of 
the  air  results  in  a  decrease  of  the  air's  density 
whereby  its-  ability  to  exert  lift  is  proportionately 


lessened.  ,But-  since  hydrogen  expands  under  the 
decreased  atmospheric  pressure  in  the  same  pro- 
portiori  as  air,  it  follows  that  the  lessened  density 
of  the  ^ff  will  be  compensated  for  by  an  increased 
volume  of  hydrogen.  Consequently  an  airship 
does  not"  lose  any  lift  upon  ascending  as  long  as  the 
gas  is  able  to  expand  within  the  hull. 

The  expansion  of  the  gas  within  the  hull  is, 
however,  necessarily  limited  by  structural  con- 
siderations. ;The  low  tensile  strength  of  balloon 
fabrics,  which  is  the  logical  outcome  of  the  well- 
known  weight-saving  tendency  applied  to  all  air- 
craft, makes  it  imperative  to  prevent  the  hull  from 
being  subjected  to  conside  able  internal  pressure, 
such  as  would  arise  through  the  expansion  of  the 
gas  were  the  hull  a  totally  sealed  gas-container. 
This  is  why  the  gas-containing  portions  of  all 
airships  are  provided  with  relief  valves,  which 
automatically  open  when  the  internal  pressure 
reaches  the  safety  limit. 

Such  being  the  case,  it  becomes  obvious  that  if 
an  airship  is  to  reach  a  certain  level  without  loss 
of  lift,  it  must  be  only  partly  inflated  at  sea-level. 
This  initial  deficiency  of  lift  relative  to  the  maxi- 
mum lift  afforded  by  full  volume  must  be  compen- 
sated for,  upon  ascending,  by  throwing  off  an 
equivalent  amount  of  ballast. 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  9,000  CBM.  CLEMENT-BAYARD  AIRSHIP  DUPUY-DE-LOME  (CAR-GIRDER  PRESSURE  TYPE). 

ABD  car-girder;  C  propeller  outriggers;  E  elevator;  F  rudder;  G  engine;  H  clutch;  I  spring  suspension  of  engine;  J  transmission; 
K  propeller;  L  radiator;  M  fuel  tank;  N  pilot  stand;  OO1  ballonnets;  P  fan-blower;  Q  air  discharge  pipe;  R  gas  valve;  SS1  air  valves; 
U  bumping  bag;  V  mooring  point;  XXX  ripping  panels. 


The  allowance  for  lift  deficiency  due  to  partial 
inflation  greatly  varies  according  to  the  type  of 
airships.  On  structure  airships  the  considerable 
weight  of  the  hull  frame  generally  limits  the 
allowance  for  gas  expansion  to  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
gas-cells'  volume,  a  fact  which  eloquently  demon- 
strates the  need  of  large  displacements  for  making 
structure  airships  efficient. 

The  absence  of  a  hull  frame  enables  pressure 
airships,  on  the  contrary,  to  embody  a  much 
greater  allowance  for  gas  expansion,  the  capacity 
of  the  ballonnet  often  attaining  thirty-three  per 
cent,  that  of  the  envelope.  Since  pressure  air- 
ships are  dependent  upon  internal  pressure  for  the 
maintenance  of  their  shape,  variations  of  gas  pres- 
sure being  regulated  by  the  ballonnet  (see  p.  7),  it 
follows  that  the  capacity  of  the  latter  determines 
the  allowance  for  gas  expansion  and  consequently 
the  attainable  altitude.  It  should  be  clearly  under- 
stood that  the  ballonnet  is  nothing  but  a  compensat- 
ing device  for  variable  gas  volumes,  which  endows 
the  pressure  airship  with  constant  displacement  up 
to  the  ballonnet's  capacity  of  contraction  or  expan- 
sion. Structure  airships  can,  on  the  other  hand, 
do  without  a  ballonnet,  because  the  greater  or  lesser 
inflation  of  the  gas-cells .  does  not  affect  the  air- 
ship's displacement;  the  latter  is,  indeed,  invariably 


constant,  since  it  is  determined  by  the  volume  of  the 
outer  cover,  which  is  kept  rigid  by  the  hull  frame. 

It  has  been  said  before  that  an  airship  loses  in 
theory  one  per  cent,  of  its  lift  whenever  the  altitude 
above  sea-level  increases  by  80  meters;  in  practice, 
however,  the  stretch  of  the  fabric  and  the  not 
wholly  isothermic  expansion  of  the  gas  lower  this 
ratio  to  such  extent  that  one  may  assume  the  gas 
to  expand  one  per  cent,  of  its  volume  for  every 
ascent  of  100  meters.  Thus,  or  instance,  an  air- 
ship which  is  ninety-seven  per  cent,  inflated  at 
sea-level  can  reach  an  altitude  of  300  m.  without 
loss  of  gas,  provided  the  temperature  of  the  air 
remains  constant;  but  if  it  ascends  to  the  500  m. 
level,  then  the  airship  loses  through  the  relief 
valves  two  per  cent,  of  its  lift,  which  must  be 
compensated  for  by  releasing  ballast  of  equivalent 
weight.  On  descending  from  500  m.  to  300  m. 
altitude,  the  airship  loses  once  more  two  per  cent, 
of  its  lift;  for,  the  gas  having  contracted  in  the 
descent,  the  gas  container  will  be  only  98  per  cent, 
inflated.  The  resulting  lift  deficiency  o"  two  per 
cent,  must  again  be  equalized  by  releasing  ballast, 
unless  it  be  balanced  by  an  expenditure  of  fuel. 
The  above  example  is  drawn  from  the  operation  of 
commercial  Zeppelin  airships,  which  were  normally 
navigating  at  the  300  m.  level. 


Variations  of  the  hydrogen's  density  are,  owing 
to  the  small  specific  weight  of  that  gas,  of  so  little 
magnitude  that  it  is  customary  to  disregard  their 
influence  upon  the  static  attitude  of  airships. 

Variations  of  barometric  pressure  affect  the 
operation  of  airships  in  a  way  similar  to  those  of 
atmospheric  pressure.  A  10  millimeters  drop  of 
the  barometer  corresponds  approximately  to  an 
ascent  of  100  m.,  and  consequently  to  an  expansion 
of  the  gas  of  one  per  cent,  its  volume,  and  vice 
versa.  In  practice  it  is,  however,  difficult  to 
distinguish  the  influence  of  atmospheric  pressure 
due  to  altitude  from  that  of  barometric  pressure 
due  to  meteorological  phenomena,  since  both  kinds 
of  pressure  variations  are  recorded  on  airships  by 
the  self-same  instrument;  namely,  the  barometer. 

The  static  attitude  of  airships  is  furthermore 
affected  by  the  temperature  of  the  gas  and  that  of 
the  atmosphere. 

A  rise  of  the  gas  temperature  decreases  the 
density  of  the  gas  and  increases  its  volume.  As  a 
consequence,  the  gas  weighs  less  and  proportionately 
lifts  more.  Whenever  the  gas  temperature  rises  3° 
Centigrade,  the  lift  of  an  airship  increases  by  one 
per  cent,  of  its  volume,  and  vice  versa. 

As  an  example,  if  means  were  provided  on  the 
above-discussed  commercial  Zeppelin  wherewith  to 


raise  the  gas  temperature  6°  Centigrade  while  the 
vessel  descends  from  500  m.  to  300  m.  altitude,  it 
is  obvious  that  no  additional  loss  of  lift  would  be 
incurred,  since  the  previous  loss  of  gas  would  be 
compensated  for  by  a  greater  expansion  of  gas. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  gas  temperature  of  this 
airship  should  rise  6°  Centigrade  at  sea-level,  then 
the  maximum  altitude  the  vessel  could  reach  with- 
out loss  of  gas  would  be  reduced  to  100  m.,  because 
at  sea-level  the  hydrogen  would  fill  ninety-nine  per 
cent,  of  the  gas-cells'  capacity. 

If  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  rises,  the 
corresponding  decrease  of  density  and  increase  of 
the  air's  volume  decreases  the  air's  specific  weight, 
and  consequently  its  ability  -to  exert  upward  pres- 
sure upon  a  gas  the  specific  weight  of  which  re- 
mained stationary.  A  rise  of  3°  Centigrade  in  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere  decreases  the  lift  of  an 
airship  by  one  per  cent,  of  its  volume,  and  vice  versa. 

The  altitude  to  which  a  ninety-seven  per  cent, 
inflated  airship  can  normally  ascend,  as  above 
explained,  would  thus  be  raised  by  100  meters 
should  the  atmospheric  temperature  drop  3°  Centi- 
grade. 

•  The  foregoing  considerations  amply  illustrate 
the  magnitude  of  the  losses  of  lift  an  airship  may 
undergo  at  high  altitudes  or  in  a  hot  climate. 


26 


_  J-- I 


DIAGRAM  OF  A  TENSION-TRUSS  PRESSURE  AIRSHIP,  THE  ASTRA -TORRES  I. 

A  envelope;  BB  ballonnets;  C  car;  D  propeller;  E  engine;  F  transmission;  G  fuel  tank;  H  oil  tank;  I,  K  ballonnet  blower;  J  air  pipe; 
L  rudder;  M  elevator;  N,  N  ballonnet  valves;  O  ripping  panel. 

a  airship  fabric;  bb  rope  girder;  c,  d,  e,  f,  g,  h,  i  crow's  feet;  jj  rudder  truss  guys;  k  truss  terminal;  1  truss  hem;  m,  n,  o,  p  rigging  guys. 


27 


For  instance,  an  airship  which  is  ninety-five  per 
cent,  inflated  at  sea-level  pressure  loses,  on  reaching 
an  altitude  of  3,000  metres,  and  through  the  sole 
agency  of  decreased  atmospheric  pressure,  25  per 
cent,  of  its  lifting  force.  This  comes  to  say  that 
a  24  ton  Zeppelin  lifts  at  said  altitude  only  18 
tons,  which  is  6  tons  less  than  the  vessel  weighed, 
fully  loaded,  at  the  moment  of  starting.  As  the 
useful  load  (weight  of  fuel,  ballast,  armament,  and 
crew)  of  a  Zeppelin  amounts  to  one  third  its 
total  weight  when  fully  loaded,  a  24  ton  vessel 
should  be  able  to  lift  a  useful  load  of  8  tons,  which 
may  be  apportioned  as  follows: 

Fuel  for  20  hours  (600  h.p.) 3  tons 

Crew  of    14 .' i  ton 

Armament i  ton 

Ballast 3  tons 


Total 8  tons 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  table  it  would  at  first 
sight  seem  that  to  reach  an  altitude  of  3,000  meters 
a  Zeppelin  would  not  only  have  to  jettison  all  of  her 
ballast,  but  to  exhaust  her  fuel  supply  as  well,  so 
that  on  reaching  the  desired  altitude  she  would 
actually  find  herself  adrift,  deprived  of  means  to 
progress  and  to  control  her  altitude.  Such  would 
indeed  be  the  case  were  the  airship  trying  to  reach 


said  level  fully  loaded,  and  were  she  not  endowed 
with  dynamic  lift.  In  practice  a  Zeppelin  of  the 
military  (22,000  cbm.)  type  built  prior  to  the  Great 
War  could  reach  an  altitude  of  3,000  m.  and  still 
retain  a  sufficient  reserve  of  fuel  and  ballast  by 
making  up  the  6  tons  of  lift  deficiency  partly  by 
dynamic  lift  (2  tons)  and  partly  by  burning  fuel 
and  releasing  ballast.  An  altitude  of  3,000  meters, 
which  could  safely  be  reached  after  12  or  14  hours 
of  navigation,  represents,  nevertheless,  for  such  a 
vessel  the  ultimate  limit — the  roof,  as  the  French  say. 

With  the  development  of  anti-aircraft  defense, 
this  level  has  proved  inadequate  even  relatively  to 
safeguard  an  airship  against  high-angle  guns  and 
aeroplanes ;  so  the  Germans  were  compelled,  if  they 
were  to  continue  using  Zeppelins,  greatly  to  in- 
crease the  latter 's  ascensional  power. 

Advices  from  neutral  sources  state  that  the  Zep- 
pelins of  the  latest  known  type,  built  in  1916,  dis- 
place 54,000  cbm.,  furnishing  a  total  lifting  force  of 
about  60  tons,  two  thirds  of  which  are  taken  up 
by  the  weight  of  the  hull,  the  machinery,  and  the 
armament.  Consequently  20  tons  remain  avail- 
able to  lift  the  crew,  the  fuel-supply,  and  the  ballast. 
The  "roof"  is  variously  estimated  as  being  between 
3,500  and  4,500  meters.  The  remains  of  the  L.  33, 
which  was  brought  down  fairly  intact  in  England, 


28 


DIAGRAM  OF  AN  8,000  CBM.  PARSEVAL  AIRSHIP,  THE  GRIFF  (GIRDERLESS  PRESSURE  TYPE). 


29 


as  well  as  observation  by  Allied  aviators  confirm 
the  above  data;  indeed,  Zeppelins  engaged  by 
Allied  aviators  at  a  3,000  m.  level  have  frequently 
climbed  out  of  range,  and  the  L.  39,  which  was 
shot  down  at  Compiegne,  was  caught  by  the  French 
gunners  at  an  altitude  of  3,500  meters. 

Now,  assuming  such  a  vessel  to  be  fuelled  for  20 
hours  at  full  speed,  the  following  apportionment  of 
the  useful  load  might  be  established. 

Fuel  for  20  hours  .  •  .  .  7^  tons 
Crew  of  22  ...  .  .  ij^  tons 
Ballast  .  II  tons 


Total  ...  20  tons 
The  loss  of  buoyancy  of  a  60  ton  airship  is  18  tons 
at  3,500  m.  altitude  and  24  tons  at  4,500  m.,  or  30 
and  40  per  cent,  of  the  total  lift,  respectively, 
always  assuming  a  95  per  cent,  inflation.  This 
means  that  even  supposing  the  dynamic  lift  amounts 
to"  6  tons — a  rather  optimistic  estimate — a  4,500  m. 
level  can  be  reached  only  when  the  airship  has  nearly 
exhausted  her  fuel-  and  ballast-supply. 

Advantages  and  Drawbacks  of  Structure  and 
Pressure  Airships. — Structure  airships  possess  the 
following  advantages  and  drawbacks  over  pressure 
airships: 

(l)     Constancy  of  displacement  due  to  a  rigid 


framework,  which  maintains  the  hull's  shape  and 
prevents  its  deformation  through  a  breakdown  of 
the  ballonnet-blower  or  impact  resistance.  Draw- 
back: the  airship  cannot  be  deflated  on  landing  in 
"  the  teeth  of  a  storm ;  it  is  also  likely  to  be  damaged 
in  a  rough  landing  through  impact  with  the  ground. 

(2)  Cellular  construction,  subdividing  the  lift- 
ing force  into   individual   gas-chambers,  much  of 
which  may  be  pierced  without  depriving  the  air- 
ship of  considerable  lifting  force.     Furthermore  the 
size  of  an  airship  can  easily  be  enlarged  by  increas- 
ing the  number  of  compartments. 

(3)  Double  skin,  affording   protection   against 
weather  to  the  gas-chambers  which  can  therefore 
be  made  of  highly  gas-tight  gold-beater's  skin.    The 
outer  cover  also  insulates  the  gas-cells  to  a  certain 
extent  against   sudden  variations  of   temperature. 
Drawback:  the  leakage  of  hydrogen  may  create  a 
detonating  mixture  between  the  outer  cover  and  the 
gas-cells.     This  can,  however,  be  prevented  by  effi- 
cient ventilation. 

(4)  Possibility    of   greatly   increasing    the    all- 
round  efficiency  of  airships  by  increasing  their  size, 
because  in  a  structure  airship  the  weight  of  the  hull 
and  understructure  increases  in  a  less  proportion 
than  the  lift.     The  lift  of  an  airship  increases  as  the 
length  multiplied  by  the  square  of  the  beam.     In 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  13,000  CBM.  SIEMENS-SCHUCKERT  AIRSHIP  5.  5.  /  (GIRDERLESS  PRESSURE  TYPE;  RIGGING 
BAND  REINFORCED  BY  A  FLEXIBLE  KEEL  OF  FABRIC  STRIPS). 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  3,600  CBM.  KOERTING  AIRSHIP  M.  Ill  (CAR-GIRDER  PRESSURE  TYPE;  OUTRIGGER 

SUSPENSION). 


DIAGRAM  OF  A  7,500  CBM.  ASTRA-TORRES  AIRSHIP  (TENSION-TRUSS  PRESSURE  TYPE). 

A  envelope;  B  stabilizer  planes;  C  rudder;  D  engine;  E  pilot  stand;  F  passenger  compartment;  G  fuel  tank;  H  propeller  stays; 

I  propeller. 


other  words,  by  doubling  the  linear  dimensions  of 
an  airship  the  resulting  lift  will  be  eight  times  as 
great.  In  a  structure  airship  the  weight  of  the  hull 
and  understructure  will  increase  nearly  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  lift,  because  the  dimensions  of  the 
framework  and  the  thickness  of  the  fabric  must 
proportionately  be  increased;  but  on  pressure  air- 
ships the  weight  of  the  hull  or  envelope  must 
increase  at  a  greater  rate,  because  of  the  additional 
thickness  of  material  required  to  withstand  the  in- 
creased internal  pressure.  It  follows  that  by  in- 
creasing the  linear  dimensions  of  airships  a  size  will 
be  reached  where  the  useful  load  of  a  structure  air- 
ship will  equal  that  of  a  pressure  airship  and  whence 
the  rate  of  increase  will  grow  in  favor  of  the  former. 
The  pressure  airship  here  considered  is  one  of  the 
tension- truss  type,  which  has  a  very  low  or  vir- 
tually no  bending  moment.  This  is  an  important 
point,  because  the  bending  moment  increases  as 
the  weight  multiplied  by  the  length  of  the  hull, 
which  is  to  say  that  by  doubling  the  linear  di- 
mensions of  an  airship  the  bending  moment  will  be 
sixteen  times  as  great.  This  consideration  alone 
should  be  a  convincing  argument  in  favor  of  limit- 
ing the  size  of  pressure  airships  in  which  the  load 
is  not  uniformly  distributed  over  the  hull.  On  a 
properly  designed  airship  the  weights  should  be  so 


distributed  that  the  bending  moment  be  virtually 
nil.  If  such  be  the  case, — and  this  is  more  easily 
attained  on  structure  airships  than  on  pressure  air- 
ships,— the  weight  of  the  hull  and  understructure 
will  increase  at  a  rate  much  nearer  to  the  linear  di- 
mensions than  to  their  square.  The  result  would 
obviously  constitute  a  net  gain  in  useful  load.  At 
present  the  useful  load  of  the  most  efficient  pressure 
airships,  those  of  the  Astra-Torres  system,  varies 
between  45  and  50  per  cent,  of  the  total  weight, 
whereas  a  Zeppelin  airship  carries  only  about  33 
per  cent,  of  useful  load. 

Apportionment  of  Useful  Load 
on  a  23,000  cbm.  Astra-Torres  airship.* 

Crew  of  18,  equipment,  etc 2,040  kgs. 

Fuel,  oil  and  water  for  a  20  hour  flight .  4,400  kgs. 

Armament 600  kgs. 

Ballast 5,060  kgs. 

Total 12,100  kgs 

Apportionment  of  Useful  Load 
on  a  projected  22,000  cbm.  Parseval  airship.* 

Crew  of  15 1,200  kgs. 

Equipment,  search-light,  etc 140  kgs. 

Radio  and  cabinet 250  kgs. 

Fuel,  oil,  and  water  for  a  20  hour  flight.  3,600  kgs. 

Armament 500  kgs. 

Ballast 2,310  kgs. 

Total 8,000  kgs. 

*  Prom  official  sources. 
33 


Airship   Harbors   and   Mooring    Stations. — The 

operation  of  airships  necessitates  the  establishment 
of  specially  adapted  airship  harbors,  fitted  with 
sheds,  repair  works  and  hydrogen  plants,  where  air- 
ships can  find  shelter  in  case  of  bad  weather  and 
hydrogen  for  refilling  their  gas-chambers,  and  where 
minor  repairs  can  be  effected. 

Prior  to  the  war,  Germany's  airship  harbors 
had  come  to  be  known  as  models  of  their  kind. 
Experience,  dearly  bought  by  a  score  of  disasters  to 
Zeppelin  airships,  taught  the  Germans  so  to  build 
airship  sheds  that  their  entrance  would  lay  in  the 
direction  of  the  prevailing  winds.  Where  the 
winds  are  apt  to  change  their  direction  suddenly, 
such  as  on  the  seashore,  elaborate  and  very  costly 
revolving  sheds  were  provided,  which  could  be  turned 
into  the  prevailing  wind,  thus  enabling  an  airship 
always  to  enter  the  shed  with  a  head  wind.  The 
possibility  of  an  airship  being  caught  in  a  side  wind 
and  thrown  against  the  shed,  where  she  would  break 
her  back,  was  thus  greatly  obviated.  The  landing 
was  further  facilitated  by  electric-  or  gasoline-driven 
lorries  running  on  tracks,  which  extended  a  whole 
airship  length  in  front  of  the  shed;  on  landing,  an 
airship  would  throw  her  handling  guys,  which  would 
be  fastened  on  the  lorries,  and  be  promptly  towed 
into  the  shed. 


The  organization  of  docking  facilities  for  airships 
was  undertaken  in  Germany  not  only  by  the  mili- 
tary and  naval  authorities,  but  also  by  municipal- 
ities and  private  concerns,  thus  giving  an  admirable 
example  of  progressive  foresight.  Mooring  sta- 
tions, where  an  airship  could  weather  a  storm  in 
the  open,  were  also  provided  in  large  numbers. 

The  British  Navy  has  evolved  a  particularly 
promising  mooring  mast,  which  permits  an  airship 
to  put  its  nose  into  a  revolving  cup  wherefrom  it 
can  swing  freely  and  follow  the  direction  of  the  pre- 
vailing wind.  This  system  has  proven  very  satis- 
factory in  practice  because  it  lessens  the  risk  of  a 
downward  air  current  throwing  the  airship  against 
the  ground. 

Where  no  such  nose-cup  is  available  a  simple 
mast  will  answer  the  purpose,  provided  the  airship 
is  fitted  on  the  nose  with  a  mooring  attachment. 
On  structure  airships  as  well  as  on  the  pressure  air- 
ships of  the  Astra-Torres  and  Forlanini  types  the 
forward  end  of  the  hull  frame  or  of  the  truss  girder 
gives  a  solid  mooring  point  wherefrom  all  traction 
is  evenly  distributed  over  the  hull.  On  the  girder- 
less  Parseval  airships  the  nose  is  reinforced  by  an 
internal  metal  cup. 

An  interesting  type  of  airship  shed  is  that  pre- 
sumably adopted  by  the  German  Navy  for  the  air- 


34 


ship  harbor  of  Heligoland,  which  is  made  to  open 
sidewise,  like  a  mouth,  and  receives  an  airship 
from  above.  The  considerable  cost  involved  in 
the  construction  of  modern  airship  sheds  seems  to 
point  to  the  ultimate  adaptation  of  natural  re- 
sources, such  as  deeply  cut  valleys,  for  airship  har- 
bors. 

The  Future  of  the  Airship. — The  question  is  often 
asked,  and  it  is  quite  pertinent  in  view  of  the 
stupendous  development  of  the  latter  day  aero- 
plane— "What  is  the  airship's  future?" 

To  the  military  aspects  of  this  query  the  reader 
may  find  a  rather  exhaustive  reply  in  a  subsequent 
review  of  the  services  the  airship  has  rendered 
in  the  Great  War  and  the  functions  it  may  fulfill 
in  the  near  future. 

There  nevertheless  remains  the  commercial  side 
of  the  problem  to  be  answered. 

Aeroplane  constructors — who  are  the  natural 
adversaries  of  the  airship — point  with  a  pride  not 
illegitimate  to  the  considerable  velocities  dynamic 
aircraft  have  attained  of  late,  and  which  is  double 
that  of  the  swiftest  airship,  as  an  argument  against 
the  latter's  commercial  future.  Further  emphasis 
appears  to  be  given  this  argument  by  the  recent  suc- 
cessful development  of  large  weight-carrying  aero- 
planes. 


Without  going  into  a  detailed  discussion  of  these 
claims  one  might  remark  that  whereas  the  safety 
of  the  passengers  is  quite  an  interesting  item  in 
public  transportation  the  airship  appears  on  the 
main  to  fulfill  this  condition  to  a  far  greater  degree 
than  the  aeroplane,  since  the  airship  is  capable  of 
staying  aloft  regardless  of  engine  failure,  a  thing 
the  aeroplane  cannot  and,. probably,  will  not  do  for 
some  time  to  come.  This  feature,  which  enables  the 
airship  to  outride  a  storm  if  a  landing  proves  im- 
practicable, should  eventually  prove  a  valuable 
asset  for  oversea  voyages  where  the  matter  of 
alighting  on  the  sea  during  a  storrn  appears  all  but 
a  pleasant  prospective. 

And,  finally,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
development  of  the  airship  has  by  no  means  kept 
pace  with  that  of  the  aeroplane;  this  being  mainly 
due  to  the  important  expenditure  involved  in  the 
construction  of  airships. 

Nothing  could  better  illustrate  this  fact  than  the 
humorous  zoological  parallel  one  of  the  cleverest 
contemporary  writers  on  aeronautics,  C.  G.  Grey, 
editor  of  the  London  Aeroplane,  has  drawn  between 
the  airship  and  the  aeroplane,  and  the  mammoth 
and  the  dog,  respectively. 

"The  mammoth,  breeding  once  in  ten  years  or 
so,  and  running  a  hundred  years  or  more  to  the 


35 


X  XJJX 


r<     \ 


r, 


DIAGRAM  OF  A  15,000  CBM.  FORLANINI  AIRSHIP  (KEEL-GIRDER  PRESSURE  TYPE) 


generation,  has  developed  no  further  than  the  ele- 
phant, who  is  an  unfinished  sort  of  job  at  his  best, 
whereas  the  dog,  breeding  two  or  three  times  a  year, 
and  averaging  about  seven  or  eight  years  to  the 
generation,  is  a  very  highly  developed  animal,  and 
is,  incidentally,  capable  of  scaring  the  life  out  of  an 
elephant." 


As  a  conclusion,  one  may  safely  assume  that 
whatever  the  ultimate  issue  between  the  airship  and 
aeroplane  be,  the  immediate  future,  that  is,  the 
post-bellum  period,  will  see  the  aerial  ocean  filled 
with  a  respectable  number  of  passenger  and  pleasure 
airships,  not  to  speak  of  those  devoted  to  military- 
pursuits. 


37 


\\      N  /X/YTTTI 

v-x     J^LU 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  2,200  CBM.  SCOUT  AIRSHIPS  OF  THE  U.  S.  NAVY. 

I  envelope;  2  car;  3  ballonnet;  4  blower  intake  pipe;  5  blower  engine;  6  main  air  discharge  pipe;  7  air  pipe  to  ballonnet;  8  air  mani- 
fold; 9  operating  cord  of  ballonnet  exhaust  valve;  10  operating  cord  of  butterfly  valve;  n  pressure  relief  valve;  12  gas  control  valve; 
13  operating  cord  of  gas  control  valve;  14  twin-rudders;  15  king-post;  16  steering  gear  leads;  17  bracing  wire;  18  elevator;  19  elevator 
leads;  20  stabilizing  planes;  21  double  patch;  22  suspension;  23  rigging  (or  belly-)  band;  24  webbing;  25  ballonnet  suspension;  26  nose 
reinforcement;  27  ripping  panel;  28  ripping  cord;  29  grab  ropes;  30  weights;  31  mooring  rope;  32  sight  holes;  33  patch  for  removing  bal- 
lonnet; 34  kapok  floats;  35  fuel  tanks;  36  exhaust  silencer;  37  trimming  tanks;  38  operating  cords  for  trimming  tanks;  39  guides  for  oper- 
ating cords;  40  filling  hole  and  doubling  patch. 

38 


THE  AIRSHIP  IN  THE  GREAT  WAR 


The  Ante-bellum  Airship  Programs.  —  A  large 
weight-carrying  capacity,  permitting  to  carry  fuel 
for  long  cruises  or  powerful  explosive's  in  the 
form  of  bombs  or  torpedoes  for  shorter  raids; 
the  possibility  of  drifting  noiselessly  with  the  wind 
and  of  hovering  over  a  given  point  for  observation 
or  attack;  the  steady  gun-platform  afforded  by  the 
great  buoyancy ;  and,  finally,  the  possibility  of  send- 
ing as  well  as  receiving  wireless  messages — all  these 
seem  to  outline  the  large  structure  airship  as  the 
capital  fighting  craft  of  the  air. 

Such  was,  prior  to  the  war,  Germany's  concep- 
tion of  the  military  airship,  and  her  determined 
effort  to  become  supreme  in  the  air  by  just  such  a 
fleet  materialized  in  1913  in  a  building  program  which 
provided  for  the  construction,  within  four  years,  of 
thirty  airships  for  service  with  the  Army  and  ten 
airships  for  service  with  the  Navy.  The  Army  air- 
ships were  to  form  five  squadrons,  the  Navy  airships 
two  squadrons;  means  for  establishing  an  adequate 


number  of  airship  harbors  was  also  provided  in  the 
expenditure.  The  naval  expenditure  was  appor- 
tioned as  follows: 

Construction  of  10  airships $2,750,000 

Construction  of  airship  harbors $3,500,000 

Maintenance  of  materiel $2,500,000 


Total $8,750,000 

It  is  worth  noting  that  all  the  naval  airships  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  army  airships  of  this  pro- 
gram were  to  be  of  the  structure  type  (Zeppelin  or 
Schutte-Lanz)  and  of  the  largest  size  (24  tons  end 
over).  Cleared  for  action,  these  airships  would 
possess  an  endurance  of  from  1,600  to  1,750  kilo- 
metres; carry  one  ton  of  munitions  with  which  to 
supply  their  bomb  tubes  and  machine  guns;  ballast 
enabling  them  to  reach,  partly  lightened  by  fuel 
consumption,  an  altitude  of  2,500  metres;  and  wire- 
less apparatus  having  a  range  of  300  kilometres  in 


39 


daytime.  Provision  was  also  made  in  the  program 
for  the  automatic  replacement  of  airships  lost 
through  accident  or  having  reached  the  age  limit  of 
four  years. 

When  the  war  broke  out  three  ships  of  the  1913 
program  had  been  commissioned,  and  eight  more 
Zeppelins,  not  to  count  minor  units,  were  available 
from  previous  programs.  Of  the  Allied  countries, 
France  possessed  the  largest  and  most  efficient  air- 
ship fleet;  unfortunately,  all  but  one  of  her' vessels 
were  of  the  pressure  type,  of  medium  size,  and  slow 
speed,  and  consequently  devoid  of  a  great  cruising 
radius.  The  only  structure  airship  was,  further- 
more, an  experimental  vessel.  There  was,  to  be 
sure,  a  building  program,  dating  from  1912,  which 
was  to  provide  seven  large  pressure  airships  (of  25 
tons  and  over)  to  the  Army ;  but  none  of  these  ves- 
sels was  commissioned  in  August,  1914,  and  no 
allowance  had  been  made  for  naval  airships. 

In  Great  Britain  the  situation  was  still  worse, 
for  the  airship  fleet  was  nearer  to  be  than  in  being. 
Prior  to  1914  the  Army  possessed  a  few  airships, 
and  these  were  very  small  and  short-ranged  vessels 
indeed;  the  Navy  had  no  airships  at  all,  if  one  ex- 
cepts  the  experimental  structure  airship  ordered  in 
1910  from  Messrs.  Vickers,  Sons  and  Maxim, 
which  proved  a  failure,  and  was  therefore  never  com- 


missioned. The  rebirth,  or,  rather,  the  creation 
of  Great  Britain's  airship  fleet  dates  from  Mr.  Win- 
ston Churchill's  arrival  at  the  Admiralty  in  1913. 
At  the  instance  of  this  far-seeing  minister  the  still 
serviceable  Army  airships  were  placed  under  con- 
trol of  the  Navy,  and  orders  were  passed  for  the 
construction  of  two  large  structure  airships  and 
ten  medium-sized  pressure  airships.  On  war  being 
declared,  two  of  the  latter  were  available  for  ser- 
vice. 

In  Italy  conditions  paralleled  those  of  France. 
A  few  excellent  pressure  airships  of  medium  size 
were  in  commission,  and  four  capital  airships  of  the 
largest  size  (from  25  to  40  tons)  were  building  or 
projected.  As  to  the  Russian  airship  fleet,  it  was 
chiefly  remarkable  for  its  heterogeneous  materiel, 
hailing  from  Russian,  French,  and  German  yards; 
its  personnel  possessed,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
aforenamed  fleets,  only  the  rudiments  of  training 
and  little  practical  experience.  Austria  had  no 
airship  fleet. 

Early  Airship  Operations  in  the  Great  War. — 
The  foregoing  picture  of  Europe's  airship  situation 
in  the  summer  of  1914  is  indicative  of  the  over- 
whelming potential  means  the  Hun  possessed  for 
strategical  reconnaissance  in  those  terrible  first  few 
weeks  of  the  war  when  his  hordes  were  overrunning 


40 


heroic  Belgium  and  the  northern  departements  of 
France.  As  a  means  of  quickly  gaining  and  report- 
ing information  about  the  movement  of  troops, 
munition  columns,  etc.,  the  Zeppelin  proved  a 
matchless  instrument  to  which  the  German  Army 
must  owe  many  a  success.  The  smooth  working 
of  the  Zeppelin  fleet  was  further  facilitated  by  a 
total  lack  of  any  efficient  Allied  anti-airship  defense 
system.  Anti-aircraft  guns,  and  principally  range- 
finders,  were  still  in  their  infancy;  and  destroyer- 
aeroplanes,  which  were  to  blow  up  the  airships  with 
incendiary  bombs  or  darts,  existed  mainly  in 
popular  fancy. 

Germany's  naval  airships  proved  equally  for- 
midable, for  though  little  has  come  to  be  known 
about  their  reconnaissance  work,  one  of  them  was 
"iron-crossed"  for  "cooperation  with  a  submarine 
in  a  successful  attack  on  three  British  armored 
cruisers,"  as  the  Berlin  version  runs.  The  ex- 
ploit referred  to  was  the  sinking  of  H.  M.  ships 
Hague,  Aboukir,  and  Cressy  by  the  German  sub- 
marine U.  9.  In  view  of  the  undoubted  military 
achievements  of  the  Zeppelin  it  seems  pitiable  that 
its  record  should  have  been  soiled  from  the  very 
beginning  of  the  war  by  the  despicable  practice  of 
terrorizing  peaceful  populations  through  an  indis- 
criminate destruction  of  lives  and  homes.  The 


practice  of  dropping  bombs  on  undefended  towns 
and  villages,  which  from  sporadic  attempts  gradually 
developed  into  a  highly  systematized  policy,  can- 
not be  qualified  but  as  piracy  and  murder,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  its  perpetrators  will  not  escape 
just  chastisement  when  the  Allied  High  Court  as- 
sembles to  pass  upon  such  and  similar  acts  com- 
mitted in  the  name  of  German  Kultur. 

The  losses  incurred  by  the  German  airship  fleet 
in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  chiefly  in  the  first  nine 
months,  were  considerable.  Some  vessels  were  shot 
down,  others  were  captured  on  their  moorings,  still 
others  were  destroyed  by  storms;  but  nearly  all 
were  lost  through  reckless  handling  by  officers 
unfamiliar  with  war-time  conditions  or  willing  to 
take  risks. 

Within  the  limitations  imposed  upon  it  by  a 
peculiar  building  policy  the  "old"  French  airship 
fleet  gave  an  excellent  account  of  itself.  Nothing 
could  better  illustrate  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
Gallic  materiel  than  the  exploit  of  a  three  and  one- 
half  year  old  Army  airship,  the  Adjudant-  Vincenot, 
which  raised,  only  one  month  before  the  war,  the 
world's  endurance  record  for  airships  to  thirty-six 
hours,  thus  beating  the  record  previously  established 
by  a  brand-new  naval  Zeppelin. 

Besides    effecting    numerous    strategical    recon- 


naissances  of  considerable  value  in  the  early 
"mobile  warfare"  which  came  to  an  end  with  the 
Battle  of  the  Marne  and  the  "race  to  the  sea," 
French  airships  also  made  a  number  of  offensive 
raids  on. German  communication  lines,  depots,  and 
encampments.  Most  of  these  incursions  were  made 
at  night,  for  the  French  quickly  realized  the  great 
vu  nerability  of  airships  in  daylight,  when  the  huge 
hulls  form  an  appreciably  large  target ;  whereas  by 
night  an  airship  must  first  be  discovered  before 
she  can  be  fired  at. 

The  British  used  their  few  airships  to  good  effect 
in  patrolling  the  Channel,  thus  affording  their 
troop-ships  efficient  protection  against  surprise 
attacks  by  submarines.  In  this  function  airships 
have  proved  very  efficient  fleet  auxiliaries,  for  their 
cone  of  vision  increases  in  proportion  to  their  ele- 
vation, and  extends,  furthermore,  on  clear  days  a 
goodly  depth  into  the  sea.  It  is  true  that  with 
a  choppy  sea  the  range  of  deep-sea  vision  stops 
at  the  surface;  but  since  a  submarine  cannot  fire 
a  torpedo  without  showing  her  periscope,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  airship  has  still  the  better  of  it. 
By  combining  the  deep-sea  vision  obtained  from 
the  car  of  an  airship  with  the  weight-carrying  capac- 
ity and  the  variation  of  speed  afforded  by  these 
craft,  it  should  be  possible  to  develop  a  submarine- 


chaser  airship  which  would  rid  the  seas  of  their 
terror  by  attacking  the  submarine  with  bombs  or 
torpedoes.  The  question  of  accurately  hitting  the 
target  would  resolve  itself  into  that  of  developing 
appropriate  bomb-tubes  and  range-finders,  a  prob- 
lem which  is  bound  to  be  solved  sooner  or  later. 
The  British  and  French  navies  now  possess  a  large 
number  of  such  submarine  scouts, — termed  Blimps 
in  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service, — and  they  are  used 
very  extensively  in  connection  with  harbor  and 
coast  patrol  work,  although  their  offensive  value 
is  still  a  matter  of  conjecture.  The  United  States 
Navy  will  soon  have  such  airships,  an  order  for  six- 
teen Blimps  having  been  awarded  several  manu- 
facturers in  1917. 

Resuming  the  review  of  the  first  year  of  airship 
operations,  it  can  be  said  to  have  been  characterized 
by  strategical  and  tactical  reconnaissances  and  by 
coast  patrol  work.  Offensive  actions  were  of  a 
sporadic  nature  and  more  or  less  of  an  experimental 
sort. 

The  German  Airship  Offensive. — The  summer  of 
1915  saw  the  opening  of  Germany's  long-heralded 
grand  airship  campaign  against  the  British  Isles, 
and  the  novel  warfare  thus  launched  gave  the 
world  the  first  intimation  of  the  offensive  power  of 
capital  airships.  The  main  purpose  of  this  cam- 


THE  STERN  OF  THE   19,000  CBM.  SCHUTTE-LANZ  AIRSHIP  5.  L.  I.     THE  ELLIPSOIDAL  SHAPE  OF  THE  HULL 

IS   NOTEWORTHY. 


paign  was  to  be,  in  the  opinion  of  authoritative 
German  writers  on  military  subjects,  the  gradual 
destruction  of  London  and  the  consequent  wearing 
down  of  Great  Britain's  nerve-centres. 

To  quote  Captain  Persius,  the  German  naval 
writer,  "the  chief  use  and  object  of  the  airship  at- 
tacks on  England  consists  in  damaging  military 
means  and  power  of  our  most  dangerous  enemy. 
The  idea  of  what  are  military  forces  is  not  a  narrow 
one.  Not  only  may  bombs  be  thrown  upon  forti- 
fied places,  war-ships,  and  workshops  for  making 
shells  and  ammunition  of  all  kinds,  in  order  to  de- 
stroy them,  but  they  are  also  intended  to  destroy 
places  of  economic  importance  which,  if  they  re- 
main untouched,  would  add  more  or  less  to  Eng- 
land's power  to  continue  the  war.  To  the  economic 
places  which  -are  looked  upon  as  proper  objects  for 
bombs,  such  as  railway  docks  and  wharves,  may  be 
added  coal  and  oil  depots,  electricity-  and  gas-works, 
buildings  which  serve  for  meteorological  purposes 
when  they  are  in  military  hands,  such,  for  instance, 
as  Greenwich  Observatory.  All  these  are  valuable 
targets,  and  the  list  could  be  continued." 

Strategical  considerations  such  as  the  above 
were  surely  in  no  mean  way  responsible  for  the 
launching  of  Germany's  airship  offensive  against 
Great  Britain;  one  might  nevertheless  point  out 


that  by  that  time  the  Western  front  had  become  .a 
very  much  alive  barrier  of  highly  efficient  anti- 
aircraft guns  and  battle-aeroplanes  which  threat- 
ened to  greatly  curtail,  f  not  altogether  to  stop,  the 
Zeppelin's  career  of  overland  scout.  And  Germany 
so  well  realized  this  changed  condition  that  most 
of  her  Army  airships  were  sent  to  the  Eastern  front, 
where  the  Russians'  little  developed  anti-airship 
defense  system  proved  no  match  for  them. 

Contrary  to  all  expectations,  and  to  inspired 
German  press  reports,  the  Zeppelin  offensive  did 
not  start  with  a  concerted  attack  in  fleet  formation. 
Instead  of  such  a  bold  stroke,  the  Germans  indulged 
for  months  in  experimental  raids  on  English  coast 
towns,  so  that  by  the  time  London  was  actually 
attacked  enough  time  had  elapsed  to  enable  the 
English  to  work  out  the  rudiments  of  a  defense  sys- 
tem which  practical  experience,  gained  in  successive 
raids,  gradually  brought  to  the  highest  point  of  per- 
fection. 

In  the  meantime  the  airship  offensive  proceeded 
month  after  month,  claiming  an  ever-increasing  toll 
of  human  lives  and  wrecked  homes.  For  it  is 
remarkable  how  ludicrously  small  an  amount  of 
strictly  military  damage  the  Hun  airships  were  able 
to  cause,  notwithstanding  highly  colored  semi-offi- 
cial German  reports  to  the  contrary  effect;  and 


44 


THE  STERN  OF  THE  20,000  CBM.  VICKERS  AIRSHIP  No.  i  (OR  MA  YFLY)  AFTER  THE  VESSEL  BROKE  HER  BACK. 

45 


military  damage  consisted  mainly  of  delays  in  rail- 
way and  harbor  traffic,  the  stationing  in  England 
of  anti-aircraft  guns  and  aeroplanes  which  could 
otherwise  be  sent  to  the  front  and,  lastly,  general 
inconvenience  resulting  from  darkened  cities.  The 
measure  of  turning  out  all  lights  on  an  impending 
Zeppelin  raid,  which  was  first  applied  in  London, 
proved  a  fairly  good  stratagem  for  misleading  the 
raiders  as  to  their  whereabouts,  since  most  of  the 
incursions  took  place  on  dark,  moonless  nights ;  and 
gradually  the  more  important  manufacturing  and 
shipping  towns  of  England  were  darkened  in  their 
turn.  To  complete  these  measures  of  safety,  the 
names  of  places  raided  by  airships  were  strictly 
withheld  by  the  censor,  thus  depriving  the  enemy 
of  all  useful  information. 

For  a  whole  year  the  Zeppelin  raids  continued 
without  showing  signs  of  abatement,  although  a 
few  airships  had  been  destroyed  on  their  homeward 
voyage  through  being  intercepted  by  British  avia- 
tors stationed  on  the  Continent.  Still,  this  was 
not  quite  a  satisfactory  defense  system,  since  it 
punished  the  Hun  only  after  he  had  accomplished 
his  purpose.  On  their  part,  the  German  Admiralty 
seemed  in  no  way  satisfied  with  the  results  achieved 
by  their  airships,  for  in  the  spring  of  1916  orders 
were  given  to  the  Zeppelin  factories  for  the  construc- 


tion of  a  number  of  vessels  twice  the  size  of  those 
laid  down  in  1914,  and  with  which  a  decisive 
stroke  was  to  be  made  against  London. 

The  stroke  totally  miscarried,  for  the  Zeppelin 
raids  which  began  toward  the  end  of  August,  1916, 
ended  for  the  enemy  in  an  unparalleled  series  of 
disasters.  Three  airships  of  the  largest  size  were 
brought  down  by  anti-aircraft  guns  and  aviators 
in  September,  and  one  in  October,  all  around  Lon- 
don; and  when,  discouraged  by  so  grievous  losses, 
the  Germans  in  the  following  month  sent  an  airship 
squadron  against  the  Eastern  Counties,  which  they 
believed  to  be  less  well  protected,  British  aviators 
added  to  their  bag  of  airships  two  more  Zeppelins, 
which  they  sent  in  flames  into  the  sea.  Tacit  ad- 
mission of  the  failure  of  German's  second  airship 
campaign  against  Great  Britain  may  be  found  in 
the  following  comment  by  the  above-quoted  Captain 
Persius:  "It  would  be  premature  to  express  any 
decided  hope  as  to  whether  airships  can  be  of  any 
decisive  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  the  war." 
And  as  if  the  German  Admiralty  wanted  to  con- 
firm this  opinion,  extended  Zeppelin  raids  on  Great 
Britain  came  to  an  abrupt  end  with  the  disastrous 
autumn  campaign  of  1916! 

During  the  first  six  months  of  1917  only  two 
isolated  incursions  of  Zeppelins  took  place,  one  in 


46 


March  and  one  in  June,  and  each  was  marked  by 
the  destruction  of  one  of  the  enemy  airships. 

Capital  Airships  as  Naval  Scouts. — The  recent 
failure  of  capital  airships  to  act  as  weapons  of 
offense,  as  well  as  the  growing  difficulty  attending 
to  their  employment  for  strategical  reconnaissance 
over  'and,  appears  to  limit  their  role  to  that  of 
serving  as  naval  scouts. 

It  was  Sir  Percy  Scott  who  first  directed  the 
attention  of  naval  authorities  toward  this  aspect 
of  the  Zeppelin's  potentiality  when  he  wrote,  in 
1909,  the  following  prophetic  words:  "In  gaining 
information  of  the  locality,  strength  and  disposi- 
tion of  the  enemy's  fleet  and  so  unmask  his  strategy 
.  .  .  an  airship's  services  would  be  invaluable, 
for  it  might  not  be  possible  to  obtain  the  informa- 
tion in  any  other  way." 

The  large  structure  airship  is  truly  an  invaluable 
super-scout  in  naval  operations,  for  its  combined 
range  of  vision,  speed,  and  cruising  radius  make  it 
by  far  superior  to  any  vessel  afloat.  Kite-balloons, 
carried  on  mother-ships,  are  of  considerable  value 
in  spotting  targets  otherwise  invisible  to  the  gun- 
ners, but  they  are  poor  substitutes  for  long-range 
airships,  whose  speed  and  movements  are  independ- 
ent of  naval  vessels,  whereas  kite-balloons  are 
moored  to  their  carriers  and  therefore  entirely 


dependent  on  the  latter's  speed.  Nor  can  the  pres- 
ent day  seaplane  be  employed  for  cruising  out  to 
sea  with  a  fleet,  because  (i)  its  range  is  still  very 
limited  and  amounts  in  the  best  case  to  only  one 
fourth  that  of  a  capital  airship;  (2)  it  cannot  vary 
its  speed  or  remain  motionless  in  the  air,  and  these 
requirements  are  often  desirable  for  accurate  ob- 
servation; and  (3)  it  can  neither  start  from,  nor 
alight  on,  a  really  rough  sea,  where  it  could  other- 
wise be  refuelled  from  a  tender. 

Against  the  above  drawbacks  of  the  kite-balloon 
and  the  seaplane  the  modern  structure  airship  pre- 
sents the  following  advantages:  (i)  It  can  reduce 
its  speed  or  altogether  stop  its  engines  and  hover 
over  a  given  place  on  a  windless  day,  or  else  drift 
with  a  favorable  wind,  thus  saving  fuel;  (2)  its 
large  cruising  radius,  which  for  a  well-designed  60 
ton  vessel  should  amount  to  from  2,500  to  3,000 
kilometres,  provided  only  defensive  armament,  such 
as  machine-guns,  is  carried;  (3)  the  possibility  of 
refuelling  the  airship  from  a  tender  at  sea  by  means 
of  a  charging-pipe  operated  by  compressed  air — the 
hydrogen  could  be  renewed  in  the  same  way — (4)  it 
can  operate  by  night  as  well  as  by  day.  The  last, 
and  not  the  least,  argument  in  favor  of  the  use 
of  airships  as  naval  scouts  is  their  much  lesser  vul- 
nerability over  the  seas  than  over  land.  Over  land  • 


47 


TOP— THE   MOORING   MAST  OP   THE   ROYAL   NAVAL   AIR    SERVICE— AIRSHIP    LEAVING   A   SHED;    BOTTOM- 
INFLATION  OF  AN  AIRSHIP  FROM  A  FIELD  GENERATOR— AIRSHIP  WEIGHTED  DOWN  IN  A  SHED. 

48 


an  airship  runs  the  ever-present  risk  of  being  hit 
by  an  anti-aircraft  gun,  which  may  be  masked  by  a 
bush,  a  tree,  or  any  natural  or  artificial  shelter  and 
is  therefore  invisible  from  above;  but  on  the  sea  a 
gun  means  a  ship,  and  a  ship  can  be  detected,  from 
an  airship  navigating  at  an  elevation  of  1,500 
metres,  in  a  radius  of  100  kilometres,  provided  the 
weather  is  clear.  And  since  the  range  of  vision 
afforded  from  the  top  of  a  surface  ship  but  seldom 
reaches  30  kilometres,  it  is  obvious  that  an  airship 
can  leisurely  reconnoiter  an  enemy  squadron  with- 
out even  being  seen  by  the  latter.  Surprise  en- 
counters may  naturally  occur  between  airships  and 
surface  vessels,  more  specially  if  one  of  them  sud- 
denly emerges  from  a  cloud  or  fog-bank;  but  losses 
have  to  be  expected  in  warfare.  Furthermore,  in 
the  above  contingency  an  airship,  with  her  greatly 
superior  speed,  could  in  most  cases  .successfully 
outrun  a  surface  vessel. 

The  Great  War  has  fully  demonstrated  the  value 
of  capital  airships  in  naval  reconnaissance  work, 
for  the  strategical  advantage  possessed  by  the  Ger- 
man fleet  in  various  actions  fought  in  the  North 
Sea  must  almost  entirely  be  attributed  to  the  clever 
reconnoitering  effected  by  Zeppelin  flotillas.  The 
element  of  surprise  was  thus  in  favor  of  the  German 
battle-cruiser  squadron  when  it  raided  Yarmouth, 


Scarborough,  and  Lowestoft,  because  it  could  ascer- 
tain the  whereabouts  of  the  British  battle-cruisers 
by  a  squadron  of  far-flung  Zeppelins,  which  would 
report  every  British  move  by  wireless.  In  the 
Battle  of  Jutland  the  participation  of  Zeppelins 
enabled  the  German  High  Sea  Fleet  nearly  to  over- 
whelm Admiral  Beatty's  battle-cruiser  squadron  in 
the  first  phase  of  the  engagement,  and  to  break  off 
the  action  after  the  British  Grand  Fleet  had  ar- 
rived on  the  scene  in  full  force,  thus  turning  an  im- 
pending disaster  into  a  fairly  balanced  draw. 

One  may  also  assume  that  the  repeated  slipping 
of  the  British  blockade  by  German  commerce- 
destroyers,  such  as  the  Mowe  and  the  Seeadler,  has 
been  made  possible  to  a  great  extent,  if  not  wholly, 
by  intelligent  cooperation  with  Zeppelins. 

How  decisive  the  foregoing  considerations  are  is 
best  illustrated  by  the  establishment,  in  1917,  of  a 
joint  board  of  officers  of  the  United  States  Navy 
and  Army,  which  has  been  ordered  to  lay  down 
the  plans  for  the  first  American  capital  airships. 
Not  wanting  to  lag  behind,  the  Japanese  Navy 
decided  at  about  the  same  time  to  lay  down  a 
2O-ton  airship  of  the  structure  type. 

Germany's  Airship  Production. — Although  Ger- 
many's war-time  output  of  airships  is  shrouded, 
like  all  production  of  war  materiel,  by  the  veil  of 


49 


military  secrecy,  it  is  assumed  on  good  authority 
that  the  Friedrichshafen  and  Potsdam  works  of  the 
Zeppelin  Company  are  equipped  to  turn  out  one 
complete  airship  in  three  weeks'  time.  This  rapid 
rate  o^  construction  is  made  possible  by  laying 
down  several  airships  at  a  time,  as  well  as  by  a 
strict  standardization  of  the  pieces  which  make  up 
the  hull  frame,  the  understructure,  etc.  The  Fried- 
richshafen works  appear  to  mainly  build  the  larger 
naval  airships,  while  the  army  is  kept  supplied  by 
the  Potsdam  branch. 

Little  is  known  regarding  the  activity  of  the 
Schutte-Lanz  Works;  information  from  neutral 
sources  places  their  recent  rate  of  production  at 
one  airship  every  month,  although  their  earlier 
output  seems  to  have  been  considerably  slower. 
It  also  appears  that  since  1916  the  Schutte-Lanz 
works  are  exclusively  building  airships  of  the 
Zeppelin  type. 

Knowing  the  approximate  rate  of  construction 
of  the  Hun's  principal  airship  works,  that  is,  those 
where  capital  airships  are  built,  it  appears  little 
difficult  to  figure  out  Germany's  total  production 
of  capital  airships  during  the  war,  provided  the 
rate  of  output  has  remained  the  same. 

While  the  following  table  does  not  claim  to  be 
strictly  accurate  in  regard  to  the  apportionment  of 
airship  constructions  to  single  yards,  the  yearly 


output  since  August  ist,  1914,  as  well  as  the  grand 
total  herewith  given,  may  eventually  be  found  to 
have  missed  the  mark  by  little.  Confirmation  of  this 
view  may  be  found  in  a  Swiss  report  announcing 
the  launching,  in  February,  1916,  of  the  LZ.  95, 
that  is,  the  ninety-fifth  Zeppelin  of  current  series, 
which  number  includes  twenty-five  airships  built 
prior  to  the  war. 


Works 

1914 

1915 

1916 

Total 

Friedrichshafen.  . 
Potsdam  

7 
7 

17 
17 

17 
17 

41 
41 

Rheinau  

s 

12 

12 

29 

Total  . 

10 

46 

46 

in 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  above  table  extends  only 
over  the  period  ending  with  December  3ist,  1916. 
The  reason  for  this  is  to  be  found  in  reports  stating 
that  the  General  Staff  of  the  German  Army  decided 
in  January,  1917,  to  discontinue  the  use  of  structure 
airships.  If  this  report  proves  true, — and  there  are 
good  reasons  to  believe  that  it  will, — then  Ger- 
many's production  of  capital  airships  will  have 
suffered  an  obvious  reduction,  for  the  Navy  will 
henceforth  be  its  sole  customer  until  such  day  when 
the  construction  of  passenger  -  airships  can  once 
more  be  taken  up. 


I.    THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  BUILDERS 


Haen|em-"Haenlein"    (1872) 


Renner  -  "Estanc"  (1909) 


THE   M.   Ill  (1911). 

52 


AUSTRIA 

Boemches  (Captain  F.)>  Vienna. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.     Girder  consisting  of  a  short  car 
fitted  with  bow-outrigger  only.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  and  compensating  ballonets. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Boemches 

(1912) 

57 

9 

2,750 

72 

40 

Experimental  airship.  —  Two  Koert- 
ing  engines  ;  twin-screws.  The  air- 
ship did  not  prove  satisfactory  on 
her  trials  and  was  dismantled  the 
following  year.  (Photo  wanted.) 

Haenlein  (Paul),  Vienna. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.     Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Haenlein 

(December,  1872) 

50.4 

9.2 

2,400 

3 

4.5 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Lenoir 
gas  engine  fed  by  the  foal-gas  con- 
tained in  the  hull  ;  one  pusher- 
screw.  The  trials  disclosed  the  in- 
adequacy of  the  power-plant,  which 
barely  enabled  the  airship  to  make 
any  headway. 

Koerting  (Maschinenbau  A.  G.)»  Vienna. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.  Girder  consisting  of 
a  short  car  with  two  outriggers.  Trim  controlled  by  two  compensating  ballonets  and  trimming  tanks,  the  latter  being 
operated  by  compressed  air. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

M.  III. 

(January,  1911) 

68 

10.5 

3,600 

150 

49 

Austrian  Army  airship.  —  T\v:> 
Koerting  engines  ;  twin-screws.  Bal- 
lonets. 900  me.  A  fairly  successful 
vessel.  Was  accidentally  destroyed 
on  June  20th,  1914,  over  Schwechat 
(near  Vienna)  through  being  ram- 
med by  a  military  aeroplane.  The 
crews  of  both  aircraft  perished. 

L_ 


54 


AUSTRIA— Continued 

Motor-Luftfahrzeug  Gesellschaft,  Vienna. — Builders  of  pressure  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

<m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

M.  I. 

50 

8.6 

2,450 

100 

44 

Austrian    Army    airship.  —  Built    to 

(November,  1909) 

the    designs    of    the    Luftfahrzeug 
Gesellschaft    (  Parse  val's    patents). 

Girderless,    pressure    type.      Trim 

controlled     by    two     compensating 

ballonets  and  self-shifting  car.   Bal- 

lonets  :  400  me.    One  Austro-Daim- 

ler  engine  ;  one  pusher-screw.   Best 

endurance  :  200  km.  in  7  hrs.    Dis- 

mantled in   1913. 

2 

M.  II. 

70 

10.9 

4,800 

130 

45 

Austrian    Army    airship.  —  Built    to 

(May,  1910) 

the    designs    of    Messrs.    Lebaudy 

Freres.     Keel-girder  pressure  type. 

Trim   controlled   by   lifting  planes. 

Ballonet:    1,300   me.     One   Austro- 

Daimler  engine  ;  twin-screws.     De- 

signed   endurance  :    10    hrs.      Best 

altitude:    1,350   m.     Dismantled   in 

1913. 

Renner  (A.  &  J.),  Gratz. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.    Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

i 

Estaric 

(July.  1909) 

32 

6 

700 

40 

35 

Exhibition  airship.  —  One  Puch  en- 
gine; one  tractor-screw.  Was 
wrecked  by  the  storm  on  Nov.  28th, 
1910,  while  landing. 

ss 


Vivinus  -"BeJsique  l"  (19O9) 


Lembecq-"B«lgique  IT  "  (I9IO) 


AUSTRIA— Continued 

Stagl  &  Mannsbarth,  Vienna. — -Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes, 
swivelling  screws  and  compensating  ballonets.     Four  compartments. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Austria 

(1911) 

91 

13.2 

8,150 

260 

65 

Experimental  airship.  —  Four  ballon- 
ets :  2,500  me.  Two  Austro-Daimler 
engines  ;  two  pairs  of  twin-screws 
and  two  swivelling  screws,  one  fore 
and  one  abaft.  Best  endurance  :  8*4 
brs.  Dismantled  in  1914  and  sold 
at  auction. 

BELGIUM 

Vivinus  Works,  Brussels. — Builders,  to  M.  L.  Godard's  designs,  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type, 
hull.    Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Godard 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speea 
(km) 

Notes 

l 

La  Belgique 

54.8 

9.8 

2,700 

100 

39 

Excursion  airship  of  Messrs.  Gold- 

(June,  1909) 

schmidt  and  Solvay  of   Brussels.  — 

Ballonet  :  625  me.   Two  Vivinus  en- 

gines ;   one  tractor  and  one  pusher 

screws.     Best   endurance  :   2^4   hrs. 

la 

La  Belgique  II 

65 

11 

4,000 

120 

43 

Re-built    to    M.    Goldschmidt's    de- 

(April, 1910) 

signs    by   the    Lembecq    Worlrs    of 

Brussels.      Car-girder    type.      Bal- 

lonet,   heated    by    engine,    800    me. 

One  Germain  engine;   one  tractor- 

screw.     Was  presented  by  her  own- 

ers to  the  Belgian  Army  in  Sept., 

1910;  was  again  re-built  and  fitted 

with   a    hull    made   by   Zodiac   and 

with  trimming  tanks. 

Ib 

La  Belgique  III 

63 

11 

4,200 

120 

52 

Training     airship,     Belgian  '  Army. 

(May,  1914) 

Ballonets  :  1,000  me.     Designed  en- 

durance :  10  hrs. 

57 


Army  Airship  Works    "La-France"  (1884) 


Army  Airship  Works'- "Fleurus"    (1912) 


BRAZIL 


- 


Patrocinio  (Jose  de) ,  Sao  Paulo. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.    Carton-Lachambre  hull.    Trim 
controlled  by  lifting  screws. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Santa  Cruz 

(1903) 

45 

21 

3,900 

40 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Buchet 
engine.  On  the  trials  the  airship 
failed  to  leave  the  ground  and  was 
eventually  broken  up. 

DENMARK 

An  airship,  named  Fionia,  was  tested  near  Copenhagen,  in  June,  1912.     (Photo  or  sketch  and  data  wanted.) 


FRANCE 

Army  Airship  Works,  Chalais-Meudon  (Seine-et-Oise). — Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 
(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

La  France 

50.4 

8.4 

1,864 

9 

23 

Experimental   airship,   built  to   the 

.(August,  1884) 

designs  of  Captain   (later  Colonel) 

Renard  and  Lieut.  Krebs.    Car-gir- 

der,   pressure    type  ;    ballonet,    438 

me.     First  airship  to  be  fitted  with 

an  elevator.     One  Gramme  electric 

battery-motor  ;    one    tractor-screw. 

Made    seven    trips   in   all   and    re- 

turned   five   times   to   her    starting 

place,  thus  solving  the  problem  of 

airship  navigation.   Best  endurance  : 

i  hour  in  a  closed  circuit. 

59 


THE   CAR   OF   THE    FLEURUS. 
60 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

Name 

Length 

Beam 

Volume 

Power 

Speed 

Notfs 

No. 

Trials 

(m) 

(m) 

(me) 

(h.p.) 

(km) 

1  ^  U  LCC> 

2 

General  Meusnier 

70 

9 

3,400 

45 

Experimental   airship,   built   to   the 

designs  of  Col.  Ch.  Renard  and  his 

brother,    Commandant    P.    Renard. 

Car-girder,     pressure     type.      One 

gasoline  engine  ;  one  tractor-screw. 

Owing   to   the   unreliability   of   the 

engine  the  airship,  though  complet- 

ed in  1893,  could  not  be  tested  and 

was  eventually  dismantled. 

3 

Fleurus 

77 

13 

6,850 

160 

60 

French  Army  airship.  —  Built  to  the 

{November,  1912) 

designs  of  Capt.  Lenoir.    Girderless 

pressure  type.     Two  Clement-Bay- 

• 

ard  engines  ;  twin-screws.     Best  en- 

durance :    680    km.    in     15    h.    30'. 

Named  after  the  battle  in  which  the 

first   military   use   was   made   of   a 

balloon     (June    26th,    1794).     The 

Fleurus  made  in  the  early  part  of 

the  war  numerous  gallant  raids  on 

German  R.  R.  junctions. 

4 

(Building) 

110 

15 

17,000 

1,200 

80 

French    Army   airship.  —  Two    Dan- 

sette-Gillet  engines.     (The  herewith 

given  data  are  unconfirmed,  being 

based  on  Weyer's  Taschenbuch.) 

'Astra"  (Societe  de  Constructions  aeronaut  iques),  Billancourt  (Seine). — Builders  of  pressure  airships  to  the  designs 
of  Messrs.  Edouard  Surcouf  and  Henri  Kapferer  (car-girder  type)  and  to  the  patents  of  M.  L.  Torres-Quevedo  (tension  truss 
type).  Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  (Astra  type)  by  ballonets  on  Astra-Torres  type. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

2 

Ville-de-Paris 

(November,  1906) 

60.4 

10.5 

3,200 

50 

36 

Hull  of  the  Lebaudy-I. 
Excursion     airship     of     M.     Henri 
Deutsch  de  la  Meurthe.     Ballonet: 
500  me.     One   Chenu   engine  ;   one 

61 


Astra  -"Ville-de-Paris"   (1906) 


Astra -"ViNe-de-Pau"   (1910) 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

tractor-screw.   Cylindrical  fins.  Best 

endurance  in  1908:  260  km.  (Paris- 

Verdun).     Presented  by  her  owner 

to  the  French  Army  after  the  loss 

of  the  Patrie.     Suffered  numerous 

mishaps  and  was  again  rebuilt  and 

re-engined.      Ballonet:      1,100    me. 

2a 

(1909) 

66 

10.5 

3,600 

70 

44 

One    Chenu    engine.      Served    for 

years  as  a  training  airship  and  was 

eventually  dismantled  in  1913. 

3 

Ville-de-Nancy 

(June.  1909) 

56 

10 

3,350 

80 

45 

Excursion  airship  of  the  Compagnie 
Generale    Transaerienne    of    Paris. 

One  Renault   engine;   one  tractor- 

screw.     Ballonet:    1,100  me.     Was 

laid    down    as     Ville-de-Bordcaux. 

Made  numerous  ascents  with  pas- 

sengers.    ' 

4 

Clement-Bayard  I 

(October,  1908) 

56.3 

10.6 

3,500 

105 

48 

Excursion  airship  of  M.  Clement- 
Bayard.     Ballonet  :   1,100  me.     One 

Clement-Bayard  engine;   one   trac- 

tor-screw.  Best  endurance  :  200  km. 

in  4  h.  53  min.  ;  altitude:   1,550  m. 

On   concluding   the   latter   test,   on 

Aug.  23,   1909,  the  airship  fell  for 

lack  of  ballast  into  the   Seine,  but 

was  salvaged,  repaired  and  sold  to 

the    Russian   Army   who    re-named 

her  Berkout.     Dismantled  in   1913. 

5 

Colonel-Renard 

(July,  1909) 

64.7 

10.8 

4,300 

100 

50 

French  Army  airship.  —  Named  after 
the   builder   of   the   first   successful 

airship.    One  Panhard-Levassor  en- 

gine ;  one  tractor-screw.     Ballonet  : 

1,500  me.    Best  endurance  :  100  km. 

in  ll/i  hrs.   Was  re-fitted  with  twin- 

screws  in  1911. 

63 


_J 


FRONT   AND   REAR   VIEWS   OF   THE   ASTRA-TORRES  I  (1911 


64 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

Jm>_ 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

6 

Espana 

64.7 

10.8 

4,200 

120 

50 

Spanish    Army    airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(October,  1909) 

1,500   me.      One    Panhard-Levassor 

engine  ;  one  tractor-screw.    Best  en- 

durance :  250  km.   in  5  hrs.     Was 

commissioned  but  a  short  time. 

7 

Ville-de-Pau 

60 

12.2 

4,475 

105 

50 

Excursion   airship    of    the    Compa- 

(April,  1910) 

gnie    Generate    Transaerienne.  Bal- 

lonet :  1,000  me.    One  Clement-Bay- 

ard     engine  ;      one      tractor-screw. 

Made  up  to  July  31,  1911,  273  trips, 

aggregating  8,000  km.,  on  which  2,- 

950  passengers  were  carried,  chiefly 

at  Pau  and  Lucerne.    At  the  latter 

place  the  airship  was  named  Ville- 

dc-Lucerne.     Dismantled  in  1912. 

8 

Ville-de-Bruxelles 

74.5 

14.3 

8,300 

220 

52 

Excursion    airship    of    the    "Avia" 

(July,  1910) 

Co.    of    Brussels.      Ballonet  :    2,460 

me.     Two  Pipe  engines  driving  one 

tractor-screw  and  one  pair  of  twin- 

screws.     First   of   a  new  series  of 

Astra  airships.     Best  endurance  :  5 

hrs.      Made    numerous    trips    over 

Brussels. 

9 

Astra-Torres  I 

47.7 

8.4 

1,590 

60 

53 

Experimental  airship,  the  first  As- 

(March, 1911) 

tra  vessel  of  the  tension-truss  type. 

Ballonet  :  500  me.     One  Chenu  en- 

gine    driving     one     tractor-screw. 

Best  endurance  :  354  hrs.     Was  de- 

stroyed by  a  fire  on  Sept.  9th,  1912, 

in  the  air^port  of  Issy. 

W) 

Lieutenant-Chaure 

83.9 

14 

8,850 

240 

53 

French  Army  airship.    Ballonet:  3,- 

(August,  1913) 

200  me.     Laid  down  to  be  of  the 

I'ille-de-Bruxelles  class,  was  altered 

during  the  construction  and  made 

'milar  to  Adjudant-Reau,  the  bal- 

65 


TOP— STERN  VIEW  OF  THE  ASTRA-TORRES  I  AND  THE  VILLE-DE-BRUXELLES;  BOTTOM— STERN  VIEW 

OF  THE  CONTE  AND   THE  ADJUDANT-REAU. 

66 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

<h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

loon-fins  being  replaced  by  stabiliz- 

ers.    Commissioned  after  much  de- 

layt      Two    Panhard-Levassor    en- 

gines. 

11 

Adjudant-Reau 
(September,  1911) 

86.8 

14 

8,950 

240 

55 

French.  Army  airship.  —  Ballonet:  3,- 
200  me.    Two  Brasier  engines  ;  one 

tractor  and  twin-screws.     Best  en- 

durance :    917    km.    in    21    hrs.    20 

min.  ;   altitude  :   2,150  m.     Trips   in 

1912  aggregated  3,845  km.  and  105 

hrs.  39  min.     One  of  the  finest  air- 

ships    of     her     time.       Was     de- 

stroyed by  a  fire  on  May  2nd,  1914, 

in   the   air-harbour  of  Verdun. 

12 

Conte 

65 

14 

6,650 

180 

48 

French     Army     airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(June,  1912) 

2,200    me.      Two    Chenu    engines; 

twin-screws.     Best    altitude  :    3,050 

m.    Was  damaged  by  the  fire  which 

12a 

(1913) 

82.5 

14 

9,100 

400 

61 

destroyed   the  Astra-Torres  I  and 
was  re-built  and  fitted  with  a  bal- 

lonet    of    3,000   me.,    larger    Chenu 

engines  and  a  second  pair  of  twin- 

screws.     Best   endurance  :   700  km. 

in   16  hrs.     Dismantled  in   1914. 

13 

(March,  1913) 

77.8 

14.9 

9,800 

400 

61 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  Two  Che- 

nu  engines  ;   twin   screws  and   one 

tractor-screw.     Ballonet  :  3,100  me. 

Was  laid  down  as  an  excursion  air- 

ship  for   the   Compagnie   Generale 

Transaerienne,     but     was  sold     to 

Russia    while    under    construction. 

Best  endurance:  650  km.  in  u  hrs. 

14 

No.  3 

76.2 

13.5 

7,360 

400 

82 

British    naval    airship.  —  Astra-Tor- 

(September, 1913) 

res  type  ;  the  fastest  vessel  of  her 

time.     Two   Chenu   engines  ;   twin- 

screws.     Elevators  were  altered  in 

1914. 

67 


TOP— THE  ADJUDANT-RE'AU  (i9u)  AND  THE  COLON  EL-REN ARD  (1909);  BOTTOM—THE  CAR  OF  THE  ADJUVANT- 

REAU  AND   THE   ASTRA-TORRES  I  (1911). 
68 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

Name 

Length 

Beam 

Volume 

Power 

Speed 

Notes 

No. 

Trials 

(m) 

(m) 

(me) 

(h.p.) 

(km) 

15 

Pilatre-de-Rozier 

97 

24.5 

24,300 

1,000 

85 

French   Army   airship.  —  Astra-Tor- 

(January, 1915) 

res  type.     Two  cars.     Four  Chenu 

engines,  in  pairs  on  each  car,  driv- 

ing two  pairs   of    swivelling   twin- 

screws.     Four  machine-guns  on  the 

cars,    one   on   the   roof.      Designed 

endurance  :   15  hrs.  at  2,500  m.  and 

full    speed;    30   hrs.  at    £4    speed. 

Wireless  carrying  600  km. 

16 

(1915) 

97 

24.5 

25,000 

1,000 

85 

French    Army    airship.  —  Pilatre-de- 

Rozier   class. 

17 

(Building) 

97 

24.5 

25,000 

1,000 

85 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  Pilatre-de- 

Rosier  class. 

18 

(Building) 

10,000 

500 

85 

British    naval    airship.  —  Astra-Tor- 

res   type.      Two    Chenu    engines  ; 

twin-screws. 

— 

(S.  S.  type) 

53 

A  certain  number  of  these  airships. 

about  which  no  further  data  can  be 

given  at  present  on  account  of  the 

war,  have  been  built  and  are  build- 

ing  for   oversea  patrol   work   with 

the    Allied    naval    forces.      In    the 

Royal     Naval    Air    Service    these 

airships      are      commonly      termed 

"Blimps." 

Bot  &  L'Allemand,  Paris. —Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.     Length:  75  m.    Was  wrecked  by  a  storm 
in  her  shed  at  Verdun  on  March  1st,  191 1.     (Data  and  photo  wanted.) 

69 


BRITISH   S.   S.   TYPE   AIRSHIP   [ASTRA]  (1915). 


70 


FRANCE— Continued 

Bradsky  (Count  Ottokar  de),  Paris. — Builder  of  a  car-girder  pressure  airship, 
by  ballast. 


Carton-Lachambre  hull.     Trim  controlled 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Bradsky 

34 

6.3 

850 

16 

30 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Buchet 

(October  3rd,  1902) 

engine  ;  one  pusher  screw  and  one 

lifting   screw.     Primitive  construc- 

tion.   The  only  ascent  ended  in  the 

car  breaking  away  from  the  envel- 

ope at  an  altitude  of  500  m.,  kill- 

ing  M.   de   Bradsky  and  his   engi- 

neer, M.  Paul  Morm. 

Carton  &  Veuve  Lachambre,  Paris. — Builders  of  airship  hulls  and  aerostatic  mateViel. 

Clement-Bayard  (A.) ,  Levallois  (Seine). — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder  type  to  the  designs  of  M.  Sabathier. 
Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes;  on  late  models  also  by  lifting  screws. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

C.  B.  I. 

Clement-Bayard  I. 

Excursion     airship     built     for     M. 

Clement-Bayard     by     the     "Astra" 

Works. 

C.  B.  II. 

Clement-Bayard  II. 

76.5 

12.7 

6,500 

260 

52 

British  Army  airship,  purchased  by 

(June,  1910) 

a    national    subscription    organized 

by   the    London   Daily   Mail.      The 

hull  was  built  by  "Astra,"  the  ma- 

chinery and  cars  by  Clement-Bay- 

ard.    Ballonet  :.  2,200  me.     Two  en- 

gines;   twin-screws.     After   a   par- 

C. B.  Ila. 

(September,  1910) 

76.5 

13.2 

7,000 

260 

52 

tial  re-construction  the  airship  flew 

on  Oct.   i6th,   1910,   from  Paris  to 

London,  covering  390  km.  in  6  hrs. 

with  a  crew  of  seven,  this  being  the 

first  airship  flight  across  the  Chan- 

nel. 

TOP— THE  CLEMENT-BA  YARD  II  (1910)  AND  THE  DUPUY-DE-LOME  (1912);  BOTTOM— THE  ADJUDANT-VINCENOT 

(1911)  AND   THE   E.   MONTGOLFIER  (1913). 

72 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km)' 

Notes 

C.  B.  III. 

Dupuy-de-Lome 

89 

13.5 

9,000 

260 

55 

French        Army        airship.  —  C.B.ll 

(May,  1912) 

type.      Two     Clement-Bayard     en- 

gines ;  twin-screws.    Ballonet  :  3,000 

. 

me.      Best   endurance  :    800   km.    in 

i9l/2  hrs.     Trips  in  1912  aggregated 

4,424  km.  and   no  hrs.     Was  acci- 

dentally lost  in  the   Great   War. 

C.  B.  IV-. 

Adjudant-Vincenot 

88 

13.5 

9,000 

260 

56 

French  Army  airship.—  t'.B.//  type. 

(June,  1911) 

Best   endurance  :    650   km.    in    1654 

hrs.    Trips  in  1912  aggregated  2,235 

km.   and   55   hrs.     Was   re-built   to 

the  designs  of  the  C.B.V. 

(1913) 

91 

15 

9,600 

260 

58 

Best    endurance  :    35    hrs.    20    min. 

During  the   early  part  of  the  war 

this   airship   made   numerous   raids 

on  German  communication  lines. 

C.  B.  V. 

(February,  1913) 

86 

13.5 

9,000 

360 

60 

Russian    Army   airship.  —  Two   Cle- 

ment-Bayard engines  ;  twin-screws. 

Ballonet  :  4,500  me. 

c.  B.  v:. 

E.  Montgolfier 

73.5 

12.2 

6,500 

180 

68 

French  Army  airship.  —  New  type  : 

(August,  1913) 

short  car  fitted  with  two  outriggers. 

Ballonet  :  2,400  me.     Two  Clement- 

Bayard    engines  ;    twin-screws    arid 

one  lifting  screw.     Designed  endur- 

ance:   15  hrs.   at  2,000   m.  altitude. 

Armed  with  two  machine  guns. 

C.  B.  VII. 

(1914) 

130 

16 

21,500 

1,400 

80 

French   Army  airships.  —  Four  Cle- 

C. B.  VIII. 

(1915) 

ment-Bayard  engines  ;  two  pairs  of 

swivelling    twin-screws.     One    car. 

Designed  endurance  :  15  hrs.  at  full 

»  1 

speed.lknd  2,500  m.  altitude.     Wire- 

. 

less  'carrying   600   km.      Four   ma- 

chine guns  on  the  car;  one  on  the 

roof,  on  a  platform  connected  with 

the  car  by  a  shaft 

73 


TOP— THE  POWER  PLANT  AND  STEERING  GEAR  OF  THE  ADJUDANT-VINCENOT;  BOTTOM—  THE  CAR 
OF  THE  ADJUDANT-VINCENOT  AND   OF   THE  E.   MONTGOLFIER. 

74 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

C.  B.  IX. 

(Building) 

130 

16 

21,500 

1,400 

80 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  C.B.Vll 
type. 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  a 
number  of  airships  have  been  laid 
down,  regarding  which  no  informa- 
tion can  be  given  at  present.  . 

Debayeux,  Paris. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship.     Trim  controlled  by  movable  weights. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Debayeux 

(1878) 

3,000 

5 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Sie- 
mens electric  battery-motor,  driv- 
ing four  paddle  wheels.  On  her 
trials,  at  Villeneuve  St.  Georges, 
the  airship  failed  to  make  any  head- 
way and  proved  unmanageable. 

De  la  Vaulx  (Count  Henri),  Paris. — Builder  of  a  spherical  airship  of  3,400  me,  the  Mediterraneen-II,  which  was  fitted  with 
a  ballonet  and  a  22  h.p.  gasolene  engine  driving  one  screw.  During  the  trials,  which  took  place  in  the  summer  of  1905  over 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  a  deviation  of  45-50°  was  obtained.  The  experiments  were  then  discontinued  and  an  elongated 
airship  was  ordered  from  the  Mallet  Works.  (See  Zodiac.) 


De  Mar$ay  &  Kluytemans,  Paris. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.     Propeller  mounted  amidships, 
halving  the  hull. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

De  Marcay 

(1908)" 

30.5 

3.8 

340 

6 

Experimental  airship.  —  The  trials 
were  apparently  unsuccessful,  as 
nothing  has  since  been  heard  about 
this  airship. 

75 


Bradsky  - "  Bradsky"    (1902) 


Dupuy-de-lame  -"Dupuy-de-Lome"  (1872) 


FRANCE— Continued 

Dupuy-de-L6me,  Paris. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type;  first  airship  to  be  fitted  with  a  ballonet  and  a 
non-deformable  suspension.     Net  suspension.     Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Dupuy-de-L6me 

36.1 

14.8 

3,450 

8  men 

8 

French    government    airship,    built 

(February,  1872) 

during  the  Franco-Prussian  war  to 

relieve    the    besieged    garrison    of 

Paris.      Completed    only    after    the 

war.     One  ballonet  :   345  me.     One 

pusher-screw,     actuated     by     eight 

. 

men.     Made  only  one  ascent,   dur- 

ing  which   the   airship   was   unable 

to    make    any    headway    against    a 

moderate   wind,   although   a   devia- 

tion of   12°  was  obtained. 

Eubriot,  Pans. — Builder  of  an  elongated  pressure  airship  which  was  tested  in  October,  1839,  in  Paris,  without  giving  any  results. 


Francois  &  Contour,  Paris. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.    Carton-Lachambre  hull.  Trim  controlled 
by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

VHle-de-Saint-Mande 
(1907) 

32.5 

10.5 

1,850 

40 

25 

Exhibition  airship.  —  One  Buchet  en- 
gine ;  one  tractor-screw.  Partici- 
pated in  1907  at  the  Saint-Louis 
(Mo.,  U.  S.  A.)  airship  race. 

77 


Giffard  -"NT   (1852) 


Giffard-"N°2"  (1855) 


FRANCE— Continued 

Giffard  (Henri),  Paris. — Builder  of  the  first  mechanically  propelled  airships.     Keel-girder,  pressure  type;  no  ballonet.     Steam 
engines  with  coke-firing  used.     Net  suspension.     Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 


Works  ' 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Giffard 

44 

12 

2,500 

3 

12 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  pusher- 

(September  24,  1852) 

screw.     At  the  trials   the  airship's 

speed    did    not    prove    sufficient    to 

fight  the  wind  although  partial  con- 

trol was  obtained. 

2 

Giffard-II. 

72 

10 

3,200 

5 

12 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  pusher- 

(1855) 

screw.      Poor    horizontal    stability. 

Made  only  one  ascent;  on  landing 

the  suspension  net   slipped   off  the 

envelope  and  the  latter  burst.   None 

was  injured. 

Godard  (Louis) ,  Paris. — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

America 

50.3 

16 

6,350 

60 

30 

Polar  airship  of  the  Wellman  Ex- 

pedition. —  One  60  h.  p.  Clement  en- 

gine ;    twin-screws:      Designed    en- 

durance :  120  hrs.  ;  provisioned  for 

- 

75  days.     Crew  x>f  five. 

la 

(September,  1907) 

56.4 

16 

7,800 

80 

30 

Re-built   and    re-engined   with   one 

Lorraine-  Dietrich     engine     by    the 

Mallet    Works,    to    the    designs    of 

Mr.  Vaniman.  prior  to  trials.    Pro- 

visioned for  ten  months.     Made  an 

ascent    of    2    hrs.    at    Virgo-Bay 

(Spitzbergen)  ;    ran    into    a    snow 

storm  and   was   damaged  on   land- 

in  e. 

79 


THE   AMERICA   (1906-08). 


80 


FRANCE — Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

ib 

(August  15th,  1908) 

70 

16 

9,200 

160 

40 

Re-built-  and    fitted    with   an    addi- 

tional   engine    (E.N.V.)    driving   a 

second  pair  of  twin-screws.     Made 

a  trip  of   200  km.   over  the   Polar 

Sea   on   her   first   ascent  ;    lost   the 

equilibrator   and   fell   into   the   sea, 

but   was    salvaged   and    shipped   to 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  where  she  was 

re-fitted  for  a  transatlantic  trip,  un- 

der the  direction  of  Mr.  Vaniman, 

and   equipped   with   a  lifeboat  and 

wireless.      Left    Atlantic    City    on 

Oct.  isth,  1910,  headed  for  Europe, 

with   a   crew   of  five.     Engine   and 

equilibrator     troubles     forced     the 

crew.  to  abandon  the  America  after 

a    voyage    of    70    hrs.,    when    the 

steamer  Trent  came  to  their  assist- 

ance and  took  them  off.     Only  the 

lifeboat-  of   the   America   was   sal- 

vaged. 

2 

La  Belgique 

Belgian  excursion  airship.  —  Built  to 

M.  Godard's  designs  by  the  Vivinus 

Works  of  Brussels.  (See  Belgium.) 

Lebaudy  Freres,  Moisson  pres  Mantes  (Seine-et-Oise). — Builders  of  pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type  to  the  designs 
of  M.  Henri  Juillot.     Keel-girder  of  steel-tubing,  forming  a  rigid  understructure.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Lebaudy 

(November,  1902) 

56.5 

9.8 

2,284 

40 

35 

Experimental  airship.  —  Astra  hull. 
One  Mercedes  engine  ;  twin-screws. 
Ballonet  :  300  me.  Was  the  first 
successful  modern  airship.  Best  en- 

81 


TOP— THE  LEBAUDY  (1902-08)  AND  THE  PATRIE  (1906);  BOTTOM—  THE  LIBERTE  (1909)  AND  THE 

CAPITAINE-MARCHAL  (1911). 

82 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

durance  :   98  km.   in  2fi  hrs.     Re- 

fitted   with    a    new    hull,    the   air- 

ship    made     12     ascents     but     was 

la 

Le  handy  II. 

56.5 

9.8 

2,660 

40 

35 

carried     away     by    the     storm     on 

(August,  1904) 

Aug.    28,    1904,    and    badly    dam- 

aged.    Was  repaired  and  eventual- 

ly rebuilt.     Ballonet:  500  me.     Re- 

sumed her  ascents,  but  was  again 

laid    up    for    repairs    of    her    hull, 

which  had  been  torn  by  the  storm 

Ib 

Lebaudy  III. 

56.5 

10 

2,950 

50 

35 

when  landing  at  the  Camp  de  Cha- 

(July, 1905) 

lons.     Reached  on  Nov.  loth,  1905, 

twice  in   succession  an  altitude  of 

1,370  m.     Her  builders  sold  the  air- 

ship to  the  French  'Army  for  the 

nominal  sum  of  Frs.  80,000    ($16,- 

ooo)   in  December,   1905. 

Ic 

Lebaudy  IV. 

61 

10.3 

3,300 

70 

40 

French  Army  airship,  as  rebuilt  by 

(October,  1908) 

the    Army     Airship    Works.  —  Bal- 

lonet :   650  me.     One   Panhard-Le- 

vassor   engine;    twin-screws.      Best 

altitude,   1,550  m.    (in   1908).     Was 

moored  in  the  open  for  17  days  in 

the   autumn   of    1909.     Dismantled 

in   1912. 

2 

Patrie 

61 

10.3 

3,250 

60 

45 

French     Army     airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(November,  1906) 

650  me.   One  Panhard-Levassor  en- 

gine ;  twin-screws.   Best  endurance  : 

2a 

.(November,  1907) 

61 

10.9 

3,650 

60 

45 

240   km.    in   6|4   hrs.,   after   recon- 

struction.     Was    carried    away   by 

the  storm  on  Nov.  30th,  1907;  foun- 

dered in  the  Atlantic. 

3 

Republique 

61 

10.9 

3,700 

70 

50 

French     Army     airship.  —  Ballonet: 

(June.  1908) 

730  me.   One  Panhard-Levassor  en- 

gine :  twin-screws.     Best  endurance 

83 


TOP— THE  CAR  OF  THE  LEBAUDY;  BOTTOM— THE  CAR  OF  THE  CAPITAINE-MARCHAL. 

84 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

(in  closed  circuit)  :  210  km.  in  7J4 

hrs.     Was  destroyed  in  mid-air  on 

Aug.  25th,  1909,  through  the  break- 

ing of  one  screw  which  burst  the 

• 

hull.    The  crew  of  four  were  killed. 

4 

Lebedj  (ex-Russie) 

(May,  1909) 

61.2 

10.9 

3,800 

70 

49 

Russian   Army  airship.  —  One   Pan- 
hard-Levassor  engine;  twin-screws. 

Ballonet  :    900   me. 

5 

Liberte 

65 

12.5 

4,200 

120 

45 

French  Army  airship,  as  originally 

(August,  1909) 

laid   down.     Was   modified,   on  ac- 

count  of   the   disaster   of   the   Rc- 

pitblique,     before     being     commis- 

sioned. 

5a 

(June,  1910) 

84 

12.8 

7,000 

120 

53 

Two     Panhard-Levassor     engines  ; 

twin-screws.     Designed  endurance  : 

8  hrs.    Dismantled  in  1914. 

6 

M.  II. 

Austrian    Army   airship.      Built   to 

Messrs.    Lebaudy's    designs   by   the 

Motor-Luftfahrzeug  Gesellschaft  of 

Vienna.        (See  Austria.) 

7 

Morning-Post 

103 

12 

9,800              270 

55 

British  Army  airship,  purchased  by 

(September,  1910) 

a   national   subscription   started   by 

the    London    daily    Morning    Post. 

Ballonet  :  2,500  me.     Two  Panhard- 

Levassor  engines  ;  twin-screws.   On 

Oct.    26th,    1910,    the    airship    flew 

* 

from    Moisson    to    Aldershot    (370 

km.  in  5^/2  hrs.),  but  was  damaged 

on  being  berthed.    Re-commissioned 

„ 

a  few  months  afterwards,  the  air- 

ship   was    wrecked    through    faulty 

j 

manoeuvring  on   May  4th,   1911,  by- 

stranding  in  some  trees. 

8 

Kretchet 

'"• 

Russian     Army     airship,     built     to 

'•* 

Messrs.    Lebaudy's    designs   by   the 

- 

Russian      Army     Airship     Works. 

(See  Russia.1) 

85 


1 


86 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

9 

Capitaine-Marchal 

85 

12.8 

7,200 

160 

50 

French   Army   airship.  —  Two    Pan- 

(March,  1911) 

hard-Levassor       engines  ;       t  w  i  n- 

* 

screws.      Named    after    the    com- 

mander of  the  ill-fated  Republique; 

presented  to  the  Army  by  her  build- 

• 

ers.     Designed  endurance  :    10  hrs. 

Dismantled  in  1914. 

10 

Lieut.  Selle-de-Beau- 

89 

14.6 

10,000 

200 

55 

French   Army  airship.     Two   Pan- 

champ 

hard-Levassor      engines  ;       t  w  i  n- 

(October,  1911) 

screws.    Named  after  a  balloon  ob- 

servation officer  of  the  First  French 

Republic.     Designed  endurance:  12 

hrs.     Best  altitude:  1,685  m. 

11 

Tissandier 

140 

15.5 

28,000 

1,350 

80 

French  Army  airship.     Nine  Salm- 

(December,  1914) 

son  engines  mounted  in  groups  of 

. 

three  on  three  cars;  three  sets  of 

triple-screws.    Fitted  with  four  ma- 

chine  guns   and   wireless    carrying 

600  1cm.     Designed   endurance  :    15 

hrs.  at  2,500  m.  at  full  speed. 

12 

(Building) 

French  Army  airship.  —  Tissandier- 

class. 

Le  Berrier,  Paris. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  fitted  with  a  ballonet  which  was  the  earliest  forerunner  of  the  modern  airship. 
Propulsion  by  means  of  twenty  oar-propellers  worked  by  the  crew.    Enterprise  financed  by  the  Comte  de  Lennox. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

L'Aigle 

(August  17,  1834) 

42.2 

11.4 

2,800 

? 

? 

On  her  trial  the  airship  proved  too 
heavy  to  lift  her  own  weight  and 
was  destroyed  by  the  infuriated 
spectators. 

87 


Ro3e  -"  Castor -ei-Pollux"  (1901) 


S*«   d'Aerostation  -  Malecot"  (1907) 


88 


FRANCE— Continued 

Le  Compagnon  (Armand),  Paris. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.     Propulsion  through  flapping  wings. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Le  Compagnon 

(1892) 

20.4 

3.5 

156 

Experimental   airship.  —  No   conclu- 
sive results  were  obtained. 

Robert  &  Pillet,  Paris. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.    Trim  controlled  by  lifting  screws.     Carton- 
Lachambre  hull. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Robert-Fillet 

(1904) 

38 

9.5 

2,100 

35 

? 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Aster 
engine;  swivelling  twin-screws  and 
one  pusher-screw.  The  trials  were 
not  satisfactory  and  the  airship  was 
eventually  broken  up. 

Roze  (Louis),  Paris. — Builder  of  a  structure  airship  characterized  by  twin-hulls  rigidly  connected  side-by-side.     Aluminum 
frame.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  screws.     Fabric  skin. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 
(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Castor-et-Pollux 

(September,  1901) 

45 

7.5 

2,800 

20 

? 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Buchet 
engine;    two    co-axial    screws    for 

horizontal  propulsion  and  two  lift- 

ing screws.   The  trials  remained  in- 

conclusive, being  stopped   for  lack 

of   funds   after  the  second  ascent, 

when   the  airship   reached  an  alti- 

tude of  15  m. 

89 


Santos -Dumont    -"N0  1    (1898) 


Santos-Dumont   -"N°  2"  (1899) 


Santos -Dumont     -"N<?3"(1899) 


Santos  -Dumont  -"N°4"    (1900) 


90 


Santos-Dumont  (Alberto),  Paris 
controlled  by  ballast. 


FRANCE— Continued 

, — Builder  of  small  pressure  airships  for  sporting  purposes.   Carton-Lachambre  hulls.  Trim 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

No.  1 

25 

3.5 

180 

3 

? 

No  ballonet.    One  Dion-Bouton  en- 

(September, 1898) 

gine  ;        one       pusher-screw.  —  Was 

wrecked     at     her     second     ascent 

through  a  loss  of  shape  of  the  hull. 

The  pilot  remained  unhurt. 

No   2 

25 

3.8                200 

3 

? 

No  ballonet.     Same  power-plant  as 

(May,  1899) 

No.  i.  —  The  only  ascent  caused  the 
wrecking  of  the  airship  owing  to  a 

deformation  of  the  hull.     The  pilot 

remained  unhurt. 

3 

No   3 

20 

7.5 

500 

5 

20 

No    ballonet.      Inflated    with    coal- 

(November,  1899) 

gas.     Made   several   short   ascents, 
but    was    not    very    successful    for 

want  of  longitudinal  stability.    One 

Huchet  engine,  one  pusher-screw. 

4 

No.  4 

29 

5.1 

420 

7 

7 

No  ballonet.     One  Buchet  engine  ; 

(1900) 

one  pusher-screw.     Trials  were  not 

successful. 

5 

No.  5 

34 

5 

550 

12 

20 

No  ballonet.     One   Buchet  engine  ; 

(July,  1901) 

one    pusher-screw.      Made    a    few 

successful  ascents  ;   one  of  33  km. 

over  Paris  during  which  a  landing 

was  made  for  repairs.     Wrecked  on 

August  8th.   1901,  by   stranding  on 

the  Trocadero.     Pilot  unhurt. 

6 

No.  6 

33 

6 

620 

16 

29 

Santos-Dumont's     most     successful 

(1901) 

airship.     Ballonet  :  60  me.    One  Bu- 

V '  "*  '  / 

chet     engine  ;     one     pusher-screw. 

Won  on  Oct.  ipth,  1001,  the  Deutsch 

de    la    Meurthe    prize    of    100.000 

•* 

francs  for  a  circuit  from  St.  Cloud 

to  the  Eiffel  tower  in  less  than  l/i 

hour.   Wrecked  on  Feb'y  I4th,  1902, 

off  Monaco,  by  falling  into  the  sea. 

The  pilot  remained  unhurt. 

Santos  -  Dumont    -"N°5'   ("1901) 


Santos  -  Dumont   -"N°6"    (1901) 


5anto5  -  Dumont  -"N°  9"   (1903) 


Santos  -  Dumont  -'  N?  10"  (1903) 


92 


J 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 
<h.p.) 

Speed 

(M 

Notes 

7 

No.  7 

50 

.     8 

1,260 

60 

? 

Built  for  the  St.  Louis  airship  race. 

(1901) 

One    C.G.V.    engine  ;    one    pusher- 

screw.      Was    accidentally   put   out 

of  commission. 

8 

No.  8 

15.1 

5 

216 

5 

? 

One    Clement    engine;    one    pusher 

(1902) 

screw.    Made  only  one  ascent,  after 

which   she   was   dismantled,  having 

proved  little  satisfactory. 

9 

No.  9 

15.1 

5.5 

260 

5 

18 

Same  power  plant  as  No.  8.     Made 

(1903) 

numerous    successful    ascents    over 

Paris  ;   landed  on  June  23rd,   1903, 

on    the    Champs-Elysees.      Named 

also  "La  Balladeuse." 

10 

No.  10 

48 

8.5 

2,240 

20 

? 

Passenger  airship  fitted  with   four 

(1903) 

cars  ;     named     also     "L'Omnibus." 

Failed  to  leave  the  ground. 

11 

No.  11 

34 

1,200 

16 

? 

Was   not   completed.     One   Buchet 

(1903) 

engine  ;  one  pusher-screw. 

12 

No.  12 

Was  not  completed. 

13 

(1903) 
No.  13 

19 

14.5 

1,900 

Built    for    experiments    of    statical 

(December,  1904) 

climbing.     Was   not   fitted   with   a 

power-plant. 

14 

No.  14 

41 

3.4 

186 

14 

? 

One    Buchet    engine;    one    pusher 

(August,  1905) 

screw.      Made    but    one    ascent    at 

Trouville  ;  not  successful. 

15 

No.  14-bis 

Was  not  fitted  with  a  power-plant, 

(1906) 

. 

served  as  a  buoy  for  aeroplane  ex- 

periments. 

16 

No.  16 

21 

3 

100 

50 

? 

One  Antoinette  engine;  one  pusher 

(June,  1907) 

screw.      Stranded   on   a   tree   while 

landing  after  her  first  ascent. 

93 


THE   PAX  (1902). 


94 


FRANCE— Continued 


Severe  (Maranhao),  Paris.— Builder  of  keel-girder  type  pressure  airships.     Carton-Lachambre  hulls, 
lifting  screws. 


Trim  controlled  by 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Bartholomeo-de- 

60 

15 

Built   in    Brazil.     Was   wrecked  at 

Gusmao 

the  trials. 

(1894) 

Built    in    Paris.     Two    Buchet   en- 

2 

Pax 

30 

12.4 

2,330 

40 

? 

gines,  one  of  24  h.  p.  driving  one 

(May  12th,  1902) 

pusher-screw  and   one  of    16  h.   p. 

driving     one     tractor-screw,     both 

mounted  in  the  axis  of  the  hull,  on 

a     bamboo     frame.       Two     lifting 

screws.      On    her    trials    the    Pax 

caught  fire  and  exploded  when  400 

m.  over   Paris,   killing   Senhor   Se- 

vero     and     his     mechanician,     M. 

Sache. 

Societe  d'AeYostation,  Paris. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type  to  the  designs  of  M.  Malecot .    Carton- 
Lachambre  hull.    Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Malecot 

34 

7.4 

1,050 

30 

32 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Buchet 

(September,  1907) 

engine  ;    one    pusher-screw.      Best 

endurance  :    3    hrs.      Was    sold    in 

1908  to  M.  Jacques  Faure,  who  re- 

built the  airship  in  view  of  an  over- 

sea  voyage   from  Monaco  to   Cor- 

sica. 

la 

Faure 

33 

7.5 

1,035 

30 

30 

On  her  trials  at  Monaco  the  air- 

(March, 1909) 

ship     proved     unstable     and     was 

wrecked  by  the  wind  while  attempt- 

ing to  land. 

Tissandier  -  "Tissandier"    (1884) 


Tatin  -"Vllle  de  Pans"  (1902) 


FRANCE— Continued 

Tatin  (Victor),  Paris. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.    Trim  controlled  by  ballast.     Mallet  hull. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

l 

Ville-de-Paris 

(1902) 

58 

8.2 

2,000 

60 

• 

Experimental  airship,  built  for  M. 
Henri  Deutsch  de  la  Meurthe.  Bal- 
lonet: 200  me.  One  Mors  engine; 
one  tractor  screw.  No  free  ascent 
was  ever  made,  as  the  airship  dis- 
played considerable  instability  on 
her  moorings. 

Tissandier  (Albert  &  Gaston),  Paris.— Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.     Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Tissandier 

(September,  1883) 

28 

9.2 

1,060 

2 

15 

Experimental  airship.  —  No  ballonet. 
One  Siemens  electric  battery-mo- 
tor ;  one  pusher-screw.  Several 
ascents  were  made  with  this  air- 
ship, although  only  partial  control 
was  obtained.  Best  endurance  :  25 
km.  in  2  hrs. 

"Zodiac"  (Anciens  Etablissements  Maurice  Mallet),  Puteaux  (Seine).— Builders  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder 
type  to  the  designs  of  M.  Maurice  Mallet  and  of  structure  airships  to  the  designs  of  M.  Emile  Spiess.  Features  of  the  Spiess 
type:  hull-frame  of  hollow  wood  girders,  cross-braced  by  wire  stays  and  sub-divided  into  compartments  for  independent  gas- 
cells.  No  ballonet.  Fabric  skin,  re-inforced  by  a  netting  covering  the  entire  hull-frame.  Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes 
(on  both  types  of  airships)  and  trimming  tanks  (on  the  Spiess  type). 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

i 

De  la  Vaulx 

(June,  1906) 

32.5 

6.4 

730 

14 

25 

Experimental  airship  of  the  keel- 
pirder  type,  built  to  the  designs  of 
Count  Henri  de  la  Vaulx.  One 

97 


TOP— THE   DVINDIGT  (1911)  AND 


TEMPS  (1911);  BOTTOM— THE    CAPITA  1 NE-FERBER  (1911)  AND    THE 
COMMANDANT-COUTELLE  (1913). 

98 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
<m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

Ader     engine;     one    tractor-screw. 

mounted  on  the  keel-girder.     Made 

numerous    short    ascents  ;    was    re- 

built to  M.  Mallet's  designs  in  1909 

and      re-named     Petit-Journal     II. 

(See  below.) 

2 

Petit-Journal 

30 

7 

700 

16 

26 

Publicity    airship    of    the    Parisian 

(April,  1909) 

daily     Petit-Journal.  —  One     Clerget 

engine  ;    one    pusher-screw.      Made 

numerous  trips  over  Paris. 

3 

Petit-  Journal  II 

32.3 

7.2 

900 

45 

30 

Publicity  airship  of  the  Petit-Jour- 

(1909) 

nal.     One  Ader  engine  ;  one  push- 

er-screw. 

4 

Zodiac 

40.8 

8.5 

1,410 

45 

45 

French     Army     airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(October,  1909) 

350   me.      One    Ballot   engine  ;    one 

pusher-screw.   Designed  endurance  : 

4  hrs.     Dismantled  in  1914. 

5 

Davis 

40.8 

8.5 

1,400 

30 

35 

Excursion  airship  of  Mr.  Davis  of 

(1910) 

New  York.     One  Mercedes  engine  ; 

one  pusher-screw. 

6 

Zodiac 

40.8 

8.5 

1,400 

30 

35 

Belgian   Army   airship.  —  One   Mer- 

(1910) 

cedes  engine  ;  one  pusher-screw. 

6a 

(1913) 

42.5 

8.5 

1,700 

50 

40 

Was  re-built  by  the  Belgian  Genie. 

One    Ballot    engine  ;    one    pusher- 

• 

screw.     Served  at  the  outbreak  of 

the   Great   War  as   a   training  air- 

ship. 

7 

Duindigt 

34.9 

6.8 

915                 30 

43 

Dutch    Army   airship.  —  One   Daim- 

(May, 1911) 

ler  engine;  one  pusher-screw.     Bal- 

lonet :    125    me.      Presented   to   the 

Netherlands    government   by    Myn- 

heer Jochems.     Was,  however,  lit- 

tle   used   as    a   training   airship. 

99 


TOP— THE  SPIESS  (1913)  AND  ITS  UNDERSTRUCTURE;  BOTTOM— ONE  OF  THE  ENGINES  AND 

PROPELLERS  OF  THE  SPIESS. 

100 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

8 
9 

Tchaika 

(November,  1910) 
ICorchoune 

(December,  1910) 

48 

10 

2,140 

60 

40 

Russian   Army   airships.  —  Ballonet  : 
550  me.     One  Labor  engine   (Kor- 
choune:     one     Dansette-Gillet    en- 
gine) ;  one  pusher-screw.    Best  en- 

durance :  4  hrs. 

10 

Le-Temps 

(March,  1911) 

50.3 

9 

2,300 

110 

50 

French    Army    airship.  —  Ballonets: 
514   me.     One   Dansette-Gillet   en- 

4 

gine;  twin-screws.    Best  endurance: 

S  hrs.     Was  presented  to  the  gov- 

ernment through  a  public  subscrip- 

tion organized   by  the   Paris   daily, 

Le    Temps.     Trips   in    1912   aggre- 

gated 700  km.  and  23  hrs.  26  min. 

11 

Capitaine-Ferber 

76 

12.4 

6,000 

220 

56 

French   Army  airship.  —  Two   Dan- 

(December, 1911) 

sette-Gillet   engines;    two  pairs   of 

twin-screws.      Ballonets  :    1,500  me. 

Designed  endurance:   15  hrs.     Best 

endurance  :    280   km.    in   6-  hrs.    at 

1,400  m.  altitude.    Trips  in  1912  ag- 

gregated 5,900  km.  and  152  hrs. 

12 

Commandant-Coutelle 

92 

14 

9,500 

400 

62 

French    Army    airship.  —  Ballonets  : 

(May,  1913) 

2.600.       Two     Dansette-Gillet     en- 

gines ;    two    pairs    of    twin-screws. 

Designed  endurance  :  24  hrs.  ;  alti- 

tude :  2,000  m. 

13 

Spiess 

113 

13.5 

12,800 

200 

50 

French    Army    airship.  —  Presented 

(April,  1913) 

to   the   government   by   M.    Spiess. 

Structure  type.     One  Chenu  engine 

in    the    bow-car;    twin-screws.     14 

compartments.    After  a  short  series 

13a 

(December,  1913) 

140 

13.5 

16,400 

400 

70 

of  trials  the  airship  was  enlarged 
to  contain   17  gas-cells  and  a  sec- 

ond Chenu  engine,  mounted  on  the 

stern-car  and   driving  twin-screws, 

was  fitted.     The  trials  were  fairly 

satisfactory. 

101 


THE   SUCHARD  (1911-13). 
102 


FRANCE— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

14 
15 

}  (Laid  down  191  3)  | 

130 

15 

23,000 

1,000 

80 

French  Army  airships.  —  Car-girder, 
pressure    type.      Four    Chenu    en- 

gines;   two    pairs    of    twin-screws. 

Designed  endurance  :  15  hrs.  at  2,- 

500  m.  altitude  and   full  speed,  30 

hrs.   at   Yi,   speed.     Wireless   carry- 

ing 600  km.    Four  machine  guns  on 

the  cars,  one  on  the  roof  ;  flexible 

shaft  leading  to  the  platform  on  the 

roof. 

16 

(Laid  down  191  3) 

130 

15 

23,000 

1,000 

80 

Russian    Army   airship.—  Zodiac-i4 

type. 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  Great 

War  a  certain  number  of  airships 

have     been     laid     down     regarding 

which  no   information  is   presently 

available. 

GERMANY 

Baumgartner,  Berlin. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship,  in  association  with  Herr  Woelfert.    Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Baumgartner 

(March,  1882) 

17.5 

8 

• 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  pusher- 
screw,  operated  by  hand.  No  ap- 
preciable results  were  obtained. 
Herr  Baumgartner  having  given  up 
the  venture,  Herr  Woelfert  con- 
tinued the  experiments  alone  (see 
ibidem). 

103 


\GERM ANVf 


Brucker  -"5uchard"  (1911) 


Clout h-  Clouth"(l<309) 


D.L.W.-'Veeh"    (1911) 


104 


GERMANY— Continued 

Brucker  Transatlantic  Flight  Expedition,  Berlin. — Builders  of  a  girderless  pressure  airship.    Riedinger  hull;  nacelle, 
built  like  a  motor  boat,  by  Liirssen.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  and  a  movable  weight. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 
(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Suchard 

60.5 

17.2 

9,730 

220 

44 

Built  for  a  transatlantic  trip  from 

(1911) 

the  Canaries  to  the  Lesser  Antilles 

with  the   help   of   the   trade-winds. 

Two  N.  A.  G.  engines;  twin  screws. 

Designed  endurance   150  h.  with  a 

crew  of  six.^  One  6  h.p.  N.  S.  U. 

la 

(1913) 

76 

17.2 

12,000 

220 

44 

auxiliary  engine,  actuating  the  bal- 

9 

lonet  blower,  the  dynamo  for  wire- 

less telegraphy  and  the  water-bal- 

last   winch.      Ballonet  :    3,600    me. 

Was  rebuilt  after  various  trials  and 

eventually  the  transatlantic  'trip  was 

abandoned. 

Clouth  (Luftschiffbau),  Cologne-Nippes. — Builders  of  pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type, 
articulated  wooden  struts;  inserted  in  the  bottom  of  the  hull.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Girder  consisting  of 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Clouth 

42 

8.3 

1,720 

40 

35 

Excursion    airship.  —  Ballonet  :    344 

(August,  1909) 

me.       One    Buchet    engine;    twirv 

screws.     After  a  few  trial  trips  the 

la 

(1910) 

42 

8.5 

1,850 

50 

38 

airship  was  rebuilt  and  re-engined. 
One    Adler     engine  ;    twin-screws. 

Best  endurance  :  150  km.  in  tf/2  hrs. 

(Cologne  to  Brussels,  June,  1910). 

Was  dismantled  in  1912,  when  the 

Clouth-Luftschiffbau    merged    with 

the  Luft-Fahrzeug  Gesellschaft  of 

Berlin. 

105 


[GERMANY 


L.F.C. -"P.L.I'  (1906) 


L.F.G.  -  "P.I"     (1908) 


L.F.O.-  "p.n"  (1909) 


L.F.G -"Charlotte"     (1912) 


106 


GERMANY— Continued 

Deutsche  Luftschiff-Werft,  Munich  (Bavaria). — Builders,  to  the  designs  of  Herr  Veeh,  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the 
keel-girder  type.  Keel  of  steel  tubing,  built  into  the  hull  and  containing  the  navigation  and  engine  rooms.  Trim  controlled 
by  lifting  planes  and  trimming  tanks.  The  company  was  dissolved  in  1914. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Veeh-I 

70 

12.4 

6,780 

360 

60 

Experimental      airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(1911) 

1,700  me.   Two  Schneeweis  engines; 

two    pairs    of    twin-screws.      Was 

tested     with     one-half     the    power 

plant,   but   did   not  prove   satisfac- 

tory  and   was   re-engined   and   en- 

larged in  1912. 

la 

(July,  19!3) 

84.5 

12.4 

9,100 

260 

68 

Two   Mercedes   engines  ;   two  pairs 

of    twin-screws.      Designed    endur- 

ance :  20  hrs.     Made  numerous  trial 

trips    of    short    duration,    but    was 

broken  up   for   lack  of   funds  and 

sold  at  auction  in  1914. 

Dorhofer,  Cologne. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Dorhofer 

(1910) 

28 

7 

1,000 

60 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Mer- 
cedes engine  ;  one  tractor-screw. 
Failed  on  her  trials. 

Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft  ("  L.  F.  G."),  Berlin. — Builders  of  girderless  pressure  airships  to  the  patents  of  Major  Von 
Parseval.  Automatically  shifting  cars  with  self-blocking  device  for  altering  trim,  combined  with  two  compensating  bal- 
lonets.  Works  at  Bitterfeld  (Saxony). 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

P.  L.  1 

P.  L.  1 

(May,  1906) 

48.5 

8.6 

2,300 

35 

36 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Mer- 
cedes engine  ;  twin-screws.  Was 
re-built  and  re-fitted  with  one  Mer- 

107 


'HE  P.  L.  5  (1909)  AND  THE  STOLLWERCK  (1910);  BOTTOM-THE  GRIFF  (1910)  AND  THE  P.  L.  9  (1910-13). 

108 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

cedes    engine    driving    one   pusher- 

la 

(1909) 

60 

9.4 

3,200 

.      85               40 

screw.     Ballonet  :    600    me.     Pur- 

chased by  the  Imperial  Aero  Club 

of   Berlin  to  serve   for  excursions. 

Dismantled  1911. 

P.  L.  2 

P.  I 

60 

10.4 

4,100 

85 

47 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  One  Mer- 

(August, 1908) 

cedes    engine  ;    twin-screws.      Best 

endurance:    290   km.    in    nl/2    hrs. 

Destroyed  by  the  storm  while  land- 

ing near  Grtinewald,  on  Sept.  i6th, 

1908. 

P.  L.  3 

P.  II 

70 

12.3 

6,600 

200 

51 

Prussian    Army    airship.  —  Two    N. 

(February,  1909) 

A.    G.    engines  ;    twin-screws.      De- 

signed   endurance  :    14   hrs.      Made 

numerous  ascents  at  the  Aeronau- 

tical     Exhibition      of       Frankfort 

(1910).    Destroyed  by  the  storm  on 

May  i6th,  1911. 

P.  L.  4 

M.  I. 

Austrian  Army  airship,  built  to  L. 

F.  'G.   designs   by  the   Motor-Luft- 

fahrzeug    Gesellschaft    of    Vienna 

(See  Austria). 

P.  L.  5 

P.  L.  5 

40 

8 

1,450 

25 

36 

Excursion  airship  of  the  L.  V.  G.  — 

(December,  1909) 

One  Mercedes  engine;  one  pusher- 

screw.     Designed  endurance  :  5  hrs. 

Was   destroyed  by  a  fire  on  June 

i6th,  1911,  at  Miinden. 

P.  L.  6 

Stollwerck 

70 

14 

6,800 

220 

56 

Excursion    and    advertisement    air- 

(June, 1910) 

ship  of  the  L.  V.  G.—  Two  N.  A.  G. 

engines  ;  twin-screws.     Was  rebuilt 

and   refitted   with   a  new  envelope. 

6a 

(October.  1912) 

75 

15 

8,000 

220 

59 

Ballonet  :  2,400  me.    Made  250  trips, 

covering    15,000   km.    and   carrying 

2,300  passengers. 

109 


7T0P-THE  CAR  OF  THE  P.  L.  5  AND  OF  THE  GRIFF;  BOTTOM-THE  CAR  OF  THE  CITTA-DI-VENEZIA  AND  A 

PARSEVAL  AIRSHIP  AS  TRANSPORTED  ON  THE  ROAD 


no 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

P.  L.  7 

Griff 

72 

14 

7,600 

220 

59 

Russian    Army    airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(October,  1910) 

1,400  me.     Two  N.  A.  G.  engines  ; 

twin-screws.     Best   endurance  :   "jl/2 

hrs. 

P.  L.  8 

P.  II. 

77 

14 

8,000 

360 

54 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Two  May- 

(February,  1913) 

liach     engines;     twin-screws.      De- 

signed endurance  :  20  hrs. 

P.  L.  9 

P.  L.  9 

40 

8 

1,450 

70 

40 

Excursion  airship  of  the  L.  V.  G. 

(October,  1910) 

—  Two     Mercedes     engines  ;     twin- 

screws.       Was     refitted     with     one 

9a 

(August,  1913) 

50 

10 

2,200 

50 

42 

Korting     engine    when    re-built    to 

become  a  Turkish  Army  airship. 

P.  L.  10 

P.  L.  10 

45 

8 

1,700 

50 

45 

Excursion     airship.  —  One     Korting 

(1913) 

engine  ;     twin-screws.       Was     not 

completed    until    1913,    having    re- 

mained four  years  on  the  yards. 

P.  L.  11 

P.  III. 

84 

15.5 

10,000 

400 

65 

Prussian   Army   airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(December,  1911) 

3,000  me.      Two   Korting   engines  ; 

twin-screws.      Best    endurance:    16 

hrs. 

P.  L.  12 

Charlotte 

79 

15.2 

8,800 

220 

54 

Excursion  airship  of  the  Rhenish- 

(May,  1912) 

Westphalian    Air    Sport    Co.  —  Two 

N.  A.  G.  engines  ;  twin-screws.   De- 

signed endurance  :  20  hrs.  ;  altitude  : 

2,800  m.    Ballonet  :  2,300  me. 

P.  L.  13 

Yuhi 

79 

14.5 

8,500 

300 

66 

Japanese  Army  airship.  —  Two  May- 

(April,  1912) 

bach     engines  ;     twin-screws.      De- 

signed   endurance  :    20    hrs.  ;     alti- 

tude :  2,000.     Ballonet  :  2,300  me. 

P.  L.  14 

(February,  1913) 

86 

15.5 

9,600 

360 

67 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  Two  May- 

bach     engines  ;     twin-screws.       De- 

signed endurance  :  20  hrs.  ;  altitude  : 

2,500   m.      Ballonet  :    2,700   me. 

P.  L.  15 

(Building,  1914) 

96 

15.5 

12,000 

540 

75 

Italian  Army  airship.  —  Three  May- 

bach   engines  ;    two   pairs   of   twin- 

screws.     Requisitioned  by  Germany 

III 


THE  BRITISH  NAVAL  AIRSHIP  No.  2     (PARSEVAL). 

112 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.     (Pho- 

to wanted.) 

P.  L.  16 

P.  IV. 

86 

15.5 

10,000 

360 

71 

Prussian   Army   airship.  —  Ballonet: 

(October.  1913) 

3,000  inc.     Two  Maybach  engines; 

twin-screws.     P.L.iq   class. 

P.  L.  17 

Citta  di-Venezia 

85 

15.5 

9,600 

360 

69 

Italian    Army   airship.  —  Two    May- 

(September,  1912) 

bach  engines  ;  twin-screws.     P.L.I4 

type. 

P.  L.  18 

No.  2 

86            15.5 

10,000 

360 

68 

British   naval   airship.  —  Two   May- 

(April,  1913) 

bach     engines;     twin-screws.      De- 

signed   endurance  :    20    hrs.  ;    alti- 

tude :  2,500  m. 

P.  L.  19  1 

British  naval  airships,  built  to  L.  F. 

P.  L.  20 

G.  designs  by  Vickers,  Sons  &  Max- 

P. L.  21  J 

im,  Ltd.     (See  Great  Britain.) 

P.  L.  22 

P.  V. 

96 

15.5 

12,000 

540 

75 

Prussian      Army      airship.  —  P.L.i$ 

(July,  1914) 

type.    Three  Maybach  engines  ;  two 

pairs    of    twin-screws.      Was    shot 

down    by    Russian    motor-guns    on 

Jan.  26th,  1915,  while  raiding  Liba- 

va.    The  crew  of  seven  were  made 

prisoners. 

No  definite  information  is  avail- 

able regarding  the  number  of  air- 

ships turned   out  during   the   war  ; 

it  has  been  reported  that  the  L.  F. 

G.   works   of   Bitterfeld  have   been 

turned    into    a    repair    station    for 

Zeppelin  airships  and  that  the  out- 

put of  Parseval  airships  has  conse- 

quently been  greatly  limited. 

GERMANY 


Prussian   Army  Airship  Works -"M. I'  (I908-'09) 


Prussian   Army  Airship  Works  -  "  M.  ffl  "  (1909) 


Prussian  Army  Airship  Works  -"M.Ig'(  I9ll) 


//1V 

Ruthenberg  -"R.l"  (1909) 


114 


GERMANY— Continued 

Luf  tschiff-Antriebs-Gesellschaf  t,  Berlin. — Builders  of  airships  fitted  with  a  screwless  propulsion  system  (Meyer's  patents). 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

2 

L.  A.  G.  I 

(1912) 

L.  A.  G.  II 

(Building,  1914) 

60 
98 

10.4 
15 

4,000 
18,000 

50 

Experimental  airship.  —  Hull  of  the 
condemned  Prussian  Army  airship 
P.I.  One  Adler  engine  ;  orthopteric 
propellers.  Trials  were  inconclu- 
sive. •.., 
Experimental  airship  built  to  the 
designs  of  Mr.  Wischnewsky. 
(Data  and  photo  wanted.) 

Prussian  Army  Airship  Works,  Berlin-Tegel. — Builders  of  keel-girder  pressure  airships  to  the  designs  of  Major  Gross 
and  Herr  Basenach.  Special  feature:  demountable  metal  keel  hung  from  the  hull.  Trim  controlled  by  compensating 
ballonets  and  trimming  tanks,  worked  by  compressed  air. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

M-a 

41 

7 

1,400 

25 

30 

Experimental     airship.  —  One    Kor- 

la 

,       (July,  1907) 
(November,  1907) 

42 

9 

1,800 

30 

32 

ting  engine;  twin-screws.     Gave  'it- 
tie    satisfaction    and    was    re-built. 

Best  endurance  :  200  km.  in  8  hrs. 

2 

M.  I 

71 

12 

5,000 

150 

42 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Two  Kor- 

2a 

(January,  1908) 
(August,  1909) 

71 

12.5 

5,200 

150 

40 

ting     engines  ;     twin-screws.      Was 
twice  entirely  re-built  and  met  with 

2b 

(June,  1911) 

74 

11 

6,000 

150 

45 

.  numerous    accidents.      Best    endur- 

ance :  282  km.  in  13  hrs. 

3 

M.  II 

71 

12.5 

5,200 

150 

40 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Two  Kor- 

(April,  1909) 

ting    engines  ;.    twin-screws.       Best 

endurance  :  460  km.  in  16  hrs.     Re- 

built   to    match    the    third   type   of 

3a 

(August,  1911) 

74 

11 

6,000 

150 

50 

M.L.  ;  was  destroyed  on  Sept.  I3th, 

1911   during  the  Army  manoeuvres 

by  spontaneous  combustion. 

R.W.M.G  -"Leichlingen"    (1909) 


:-.•* 


SchueHe-Larq    -"S.L.I"  (1911) 


Schuette-Lan3   -'5.L.H"  (1914) 


5chwar3-"N.?2"(l  897) 


116 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Powe 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

4 

M.  Ill 

84 

12.4 

6,700 

200 

52 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Two  Kor- 

(December,  1909) 

ting    engines  ;    twin-screws.      Best 

endurance:    370    km.    in    i2l/2    hrs. 

Re-built  and  re-fitted  with  four  75 

4a 

Oanuary,  1911) 

90 

12.4 

9,000 

300 

60 

h.p.  Korting  engines  ;  was  destroyed 

in  the  shed  of  Tegel  on  Oct.  loth, 

1911,  by  a  fire. 

5 

M.  IV 

96 

12 

10,000 

400 

68 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Four  Kor- 

(March, 1911) 

ting   engines  ;    two   pairs    of    twin- 

screws.     Best  endurance:     400  km. 

(Gotha-Metz)   in  8  h.  40  m.     Re- 

5a 

(1913) 

102 

13.5 

12,000 

450 

75 

built  and   re-fitted   with   three    150 

h.p.      Korting      engines.        (Photo 

wanted.) 

No  definite  information  is  avail- 

able  regarding  the  output  of   air- 

ships during  the   war;   in   view  of 

- 

the    fact   that   the    Prussian   Army 

Airship   Works   served   in  time  of 

peace    chiefly    as    an    experimental 

station,  it  does  not  seem,  however, 

likely   that   large   numbers   of    air- 

ships have  been  produced  since. 

Riedinger  (A.),  Ballonfabrik,  Augsburg. — Builders  of  airship  hulls  and  aerostatic  materiel. 

Rheinisch-Westfaelische  Motorluftschiff  Gesellschaft,  Elberfeld. — Builders,  to  the  designs  of  Herr  Oscar  Erbsloeh, 
of  a  car-girder  pressure  airship.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  and  trimming  tanks. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Leichlingen 

(October,  1909) 

53.2 

10 

2,900 

125 

SO 

Excursion  airship.  —  One  Benz  en- 
gine ;  one  tractor  screw.  Ballonet  : 
450  me.  Designed  endurance:  6 
hrs.  Was  re-built  and  enlarged. 

117 


•- 


THE   5.   L.   I  (1911). 
118 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

la 

(1910) 

3,200 

125 

50 

Ballonet:     580    me.      Exploded     in 
mid-air  on  July   I3th,   1910,   killing 
.  the   crew    of    five,    including    Herr 
Erbsloeh. 

Ruthenberg  (H.)»  Weissensee  (Berlin).  —  Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type.    Trim'  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 
Girder  of  steel-tubing. 

Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l- 

2 

3 

R.  I 

(September,  1909) 

R.  II 

(1911) 

R.  Ill 

(1913) 

40 
46 

65 

6.5 
7.4 

11 

1,150 
1,700 

2,700 

24 

75 

150 

36 

45 

55 

Touring  airship  of  Herr  H.  Haase 
of    Hamburg.     One   Benz   engine; 
one    pusher-screw.      Designed    en- 
durance :    5    hrs.    with    a   crew    of 
three.     Ballonet  :  230  me. 
Excursion  airship.  —  One  F.  I.  A.  T. 
engine  ;  one  pusher-screw.    No  lift- 
ing    planes  ;     trim     controlled     by 
a   movable   weight.      Ballonet  :    300 
me.     Was  partly  wrecked  on  land- 
ing near  Crefeld  on  June  ist,  1911. 
Excursion   airship.  —  Two   F.   I.   A. 
T.    engines  ;    twin-screws.      Lifting 
planes.     Ballonet:  450  me. 

Schutte-Lanz  Luftschiffbau),  Rheinau,  near  Mannheim. — Builders  of  structure  airships.  Hull-frame  of  laminated 
wood  girders,  spirally  wound  and  held  under  tension  by  wire-stays.  Fabric  skin.  Suspended  cars.  Trim  controlled  by 
lifting  planes.  Gangway,  connecting  the  cars  v'thin  the  hull. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

S.  L.  I 

(October,  1911) 

131 

18.4 

19,500 

540 

71 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  n  com- 
partments. Two  Mercedes  engines, 
mounted  on  two  cars  ;  each  driving 

119 


ONE   OF   THE   CARS   OF  THE   5.   L.   /. 
1 20 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials     . 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

one  pusher-screw.    Best  endurance  : 

I6J/2    hrs.      Was    destroyed    by    a 

storm    while    moored    in    the   open 

near   Schneidemuehl,  on  July  1  7th, 

• 

I9I3- 

2 

S.  L.  II 

144 

18.4 

23,000 

800 

87 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Four  May- 

(April,  1914) 

bach     engines,     mounted     on     four 

crosswise  hung  cars,  each   driving 

. 

one  pusher-screw.    One  rigidly  con- 

nected pilot-car  near  the  bow.    Best 

4  • 

endurance  :  1,400  km.  in  20  hrs.  ;  al- 

titude :  2,100  m.     Performed  during 

the  early  part  of  the  Great  War  on 

the  Russian  front  until  she  was,  in 

November,  1914,  badly  punished  by 

Russian    gunners    and    appears    to 

have  subsequently  been  dismantled. 

3 

L.  4 

165 

18.4 

30,000 

1,080 

90 

German  naval  airship.  —  Four  Mer- 

(1914) 

cedes  engines  driving  four  pusher- 

screws  as   on  S.L.II.     Was   "iron- 

crossed"  for  her  co-operation  in  the 

sinking    of    H.    M.    ships   Aboukir, 

Cressy  and  Hague,  on  Sept.  22nd, 

1914,  by  the  submarine  C/.p.   Strand- 

ed in  a  storm,  on  Feb.  I7th,  1915, 

near  Esbjerg;  all  of  the  crew  saved 

themselves  but  four,  who  'perished 

when  the  airship  was  carried  away 

by  the  storm. 

? 

S.  L.  Ill 

144 

18.4 

23,000 

800 

87 

Prussian      Army      airship.  —  S.L.II 

(January,  1915) 

type. 

? 

L.  7 

165 

18.4 

30,000 

1,080 

90 

German  naval  airship.  —  Same  fea- 

(February, 1915) 

tures  as  L.4.     Was   shot  down   on 

May  4th,    1916,   off   the   Schleswig 

121 


THE   5.   5.  /  (1911). 
122 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No.  • 

Name 
Trials 

Length 
(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

7 

L.  21 

(1915) 

165 

18.4 

30,000 

1,080 

90 

coast,  by  H.  M.  ships  Galatea  and 
Phaeton;  seven  of  her  crew  were 
made  prisoners. 
German  naval  airship.  —  Was  set  on 
fire  and  destroyed  with  all  on  board 
on  Sept.  3rd,  1916,  near  Cuffley,  by 
Lieut.  William  L.  Robinson,  V.  C, 
R.  F.  C. 

Schwarz  (David),  Berlin. — Builder  of  the  first  structure  airships.  Hull-frame  of  aluminum  tubing;  skin  of  0.2  mm.  alu- 
minum sheeting.  No  compartments.  Trim  controlled  by  a  lifting  screw.  No  elevator,  nor  rudder.  Upon  the  death  of 
Herr  Schwarz  his  patents  were  purchased  by  Count  Zeppelin. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

No.  1 

5,000 

12 

Built   in   Petrograd.     Burst   during 

her    inflation    in    1893    through    the 

breaking   of    the    inner    wire-stays. 

One   Daimler   engine  ;   twin-screws. 

2 

No.  2 

47.5 

14 

3,700 

12 

18 

Built  in   Berlin.     Hull   of   elliptical 

(November,  1897) 

cross-section.    One  Daimler  engine  ; 

_ 

twin-screws  and  one  steering  screw. 

On  her  trials  the  airship  was  unable 

to    make    any    headway    against    a 

wind  of  7.5  m./sec.  and  was  dam- 

aged on  landing.   After  having  been 

emptied  the  airship  was  completely 

destroyed  by  the  wind  and  the  van- 

dalism of  the  spectators. 

123 


THE  CENTRAL  CAR  OF  THE  5.  5.  /. 


. '  .*•  m 


124 


GERMANY— Continued 

Siemens-Schuckert  Works,  Berlin. — Builders  of  a  girderless  pressure  airship  to  the  Krell-Dietzius  patents,  which  were 
ultimately  purchased  by  the  Prussian  Army  Airship  Works.  Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes,  four  ballonets,  trimming 
tanks  and. one  lifting  screw. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

S.  S.  1 

118 

13.2 

13,500 

480 

70 

Experimental  airship.  —  Four  Daim- 

(January, 1911) 

ler    engines  ;    two    sets    of    triple- 

screws.    Two  24  h.p.  Benz  auxiliary 

engines    driving    one    lifting    screw 

and    the    ballonet-blowers.      Three 

cars,   the  one   in   the   middle   fitted 

for  passengers,  the  front  and  rear 

cars  serving  as  engine  rooms.     De- 

la 

(1*12) 

120 

13.5 

15,000 

480 

71 

signed  endurance  :  36  hrs.     Best  en- 
durance :   500  km.   in  7  hrs.     Was 

rebuilt    and   eventually   dismantled. 

Steffen  (Franz),  Kiel. — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type, 
lonets.    Three  compartments. 


Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  and  two  bal- 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Kiel-I 

(March,  1910) 

32 

4.5 

500 

40 

40 

Excursion  airship.  —  One  Buchet  en- 
gine ;  one  pusher-screw.  The  trials 
were  not  very  satisfactory  and  the 
airship  was  dismantled  in  1912. 
(Photo  wanted.) 

Unger  &  Carter,  Hannover. — Builders  of  a  structure  airship.    Hull  frame  of  steel  tubing.     Multi-cylindrical  cross-section. 
Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 
No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Unger 

(Building.  1914) 

150 

22 

20,000 

Experimental   airship,   built   to   the 
designs  of  Herr  E.  Unger. 

125 


VIEWS  OF  THE  ZEPPELIN-I  (1900). 
126 


GERMANY— Continued 

Woelfert,  Berlin.— Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  girderless  type.     Trim  controlled  by  a  lifting  screw. 


Works 

Name 

Length 

Beam 

Volume 

Power 

Speed 

Notes 

No. 

Trials 

(m) 

(m) 

(me) 

(h.p.) 

(km) 

l 

Deutschlanc! 

27.5 

8.5 

875 

8 

Experimental   airship.  —  One   Daim- 

(August, 1896) 

ler    benzine    engine  ;     one    tractor 

screw  and  one  lifting  screw.     Ice- 

water  cooling.     No  ballonet.     Was 

originally  fitted  with  a  3  h.p.   Sie- 

mens  electric   battery-motor   which 

was  discarded  on  being  found  un- 

satisfactory.    On  her  8th  ascent  the 

airship  was  set  on  fire  by  the  en- 

gine and  fell  from  a  height  of  200 

m.,  killing  Herr  Woelfert  and  his 

mechanic,   Herr  Knabe. 

Zeppelin  (Luftschiffbau;,  Friedrichshafen  (Wurtemberg)  • — Builders  of  metal  structure  airships  to  the  David  Schwarz 
patents  and  the  designs  of  Count  Ferdinand  Zeppelin.  Hull-frame  of  aluminum-alloy  lattice  girders,  cross-braced  by  wire- 
stays,  and  subdivided  into  compartments  for  independent  gas-cells.  No  ballonets.  Fabric  skin.  Trim  controlled  by 
lifting  planes.  Cars  rigidly  connected.  Gangway  affording  passage  between  the  cars.  


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

LZ.  1 

Zeppelin-I 

(July,  1900) 

128 

11.7 

11,430 

32 

20 

LZ.  2 

Zeppelin-I  I 

(November,  1905) 

127 

11.7 

10,400 

170 

,, 

Notes 


Experimental  airship. — Two  Mer- 
cedes engines ;  two  pairs  of  twin- 
screws.  Trim  first  controlled  by 
a  movable  weight;  later  through 
lifting  planes.  Made  only  two  short 
ascents  after  which  the  airship  col- 
lapsed in  her  floating  shed  on  Lake 
Constance  and  was  dismantled  in 
1902. 

Experimental  airship. — Two  Mer- 
cedes engines ;  two  pairs  of  twin- 
screws.  Made  a  short  ascent  and 


127 


7-OP-THE  ZEPPELIN-II  (1905)  AND  THE  ZEPPELIN-III  (1906);  BOTTOM-TKB.  .STERN  AND  THE  FORWARD  CAR 

OF  THE  ZEPPELIN-HI. 


128 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

Name 

Length 

Beam 

Volume 

Power    Speed 

NJof-^a 

No. 

Triaii 

(m) 

(m) 

(me) 

(h-P-). 

(km) 

•            1  1  \J  i,  v3 

landed  near  Kieslegg  (Switzerland) 

where  she  was  subsequently  wrecked 

on  her  moorings  by  a  storm. 

LZ.  3 

Zeppelin-III 

128 

11.7 

11,430 

170 

40 

Experimental    airship.  —  Two    Mer- 

(October, 1906) 

cedes   engines  ;   two  pairs   of  twin- 

screws.     Best   endurance  :   340   km. 

in  7  hrs.     Was  re-built  and  solfl  to 

the  Prussian  Army. 

LZ.  3a 

Z.  I 

136 

11.7 

12,200 

220 

46 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Two  May- 

(1908) 

bach   engines  ;    two   pairs   of   twin- 

screws.       (This     power-plant     and 

drive  has  become  typical  of  all  Zep- 

pelin   airships    built    prior    to    the 

Great  War  ;  therefore  only  increase 

in  the  number  of  engines  mounted 

on  the  cars  will  henceforth  be  men- 

tioned.)     Best    altitude:     1,720    m. 

Remained  six  years  in  commission. 

LZ.  4 

LZ.  4 

176 

13 

15,200 

220 

47 

Experimental  airship.  —  Best  endur- 

(September, 1907) 

ance:  417  km.  in  n  hrs.    Destroyed 

through      spontaneous     combustion 

during    an    electrical    storm,    while 

moored   at   Echterdingen,   on   Aug. 

8th,  1908. 

LZ.  5 

Z.  II 

136 

13 

15,200 

220 

50 

Prussian    Army   airship.  —  Best   en- 

(June, 1908) 

durance  :     970    km.     in     37J4     hrs. 

Made  a  trip  of   150  km.   after  her 

three  bow  compartments  had  been 

taken  off  upon  the  airship  colliding 

with  a  tree.     Was  destroyed  by  a 

storm  while  moored  near  Weilburg, 

on  April  24th,  1910. 

LZ.  6 

LZ.  6 

136 

13 

15,200 

220 

51 

Passenger    airship.  —  Fitted    with    a 

(June,  1908) 

cabin-car.     Placed  under  charter  of 

the  Delag  Line*  after  the  loss  of  the 

*  Abbreviation  for  Deutsche  Luftschiffahrt  Aktien-Gesellschaft,  Frankfort -on-the-Main. 

129 


I 


THE  LZ.  4  (1907)  AT  FRIEDRICHSHAFEN. 
130 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

.  Name 
Trials 

Length 

^m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

<K.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

Dcutschland.     Best  endurance  :  450 

km.  in  17  hrs.     Was  re-built  and  a 

third  engine  was  mounted,  first  on 

the  cabin-car   (driving  a  third  pair 

LZ.  6a 

(Winter,  1910) 

144 

13 

16,500 

330 

53 

of  twin-screws),  then  on  the  stern- 

car  in  a  twin  unit,  each  engine  driv- 

ing  one   of   the   stern   twin-screws. 

Made    73    trips    aggregating    9,145 

km.     Was   destroyed  by  a  fire,  in 

her   shed   at   Baden-Oos,   on    Sept. 

I4th,    1910. 

LZ.  7 

Deutschlancl 

148 

14 

19,300 

'    330 

55 

Passenger    airship    of    the    Delag 

(June,  1910) 

Line.  —  Cabin-car    seating  20;    crew 

of  8.     Best  endurance:  540  km.  in 

9  hrs.     On  her  7th  trip  the  airship 

ran  into  a  storm  and  stranded  for 

lack  of  fuel  in  the  Teutoburg  For- 

est.    None  was  injured. 

LZ.  8 

Deutschland-II 

148 

14 

19,300 

360 

56 

Passenger     airship     of     the     Delag 

(March,  V911) 

Line.  —  Three    engines    of    a    more 

powerful  type.     Made  only  2  trips. 

Was   wrecked   on   May   i6th,   1911, 

by  being  blown  against  the  airship 

shed  of  Diisseldorf. 

LZ.  9 

Z.  II 

132 

14 

16,900 

450 

74 

Prussian    Army   airship.  —  Best   en- 

(October, 1911) 

durance   (trials)  :  20  hrs.     Was  re- 

LZ. 9a 

(1912) 

140 

14 

17,800 

450 

74 

built  in  1912.     Turning  circle  :  680- 

700  m. 

LZ.  10 

Schwaben 

140 

14 

.17,800 

450 

72 

Passenger    airship    of    the    Delag 

(June,  1911) 

Line.  —  Made  229  trips   aggregating 

27,570  km.,  on  which  4,545  passen- 

gers were  carried.     Turning  circle  : 

650    m.      Was    destroyed    through 

131 


VARIOUS  PHASES  OF  THE  STRANDING  AND  REFLOATING  OF  THE  LZ.  s  (1909). 

132 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

spontaneous    combustion    after   her 

hull  had  been  damaged  by  the  wind 

at  the  Diisseldorf  airship  shed,  on 

June  a8th,   1912. 

LZ.  11 

Viktoria-Luise 

148 

14 

18,700 

450 

75 

Passenger    airship     of     the     Delag 

(February,  1912) 

Line.     Best  endurance  :  560  km.  in 

12  hrs.     Made  up  to  Oct/3ist,  1913, 

384   trips,    aggregating   46,284   km.. 

on  which  8,134  passengers  were  car- 

ried.    Turning  circle  :  550  m.     Was 

chartered   in    1914   by   the   German 

Navy  to  serve  as  a  training  airship. 

LZ.  12 

Z.  Ill 

140 

14 

17,500 

450 

78 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Improved 

(April,  1912) 

LZ.  <)  type. 

LZ.  13 

Hansa 

148 

14 

18,700 

540 

80 

Passenger    airship     of     the     Delag 

(July,  1912) 

Line.  —  Best  endurance  :     700  km.  in 

io]/2   hrs.     Made   up   to   Oct.   3ist, 

1913,   297   trips,   aggregating  34,166 

km.,  on  which  6,217  passengers  were 

carried.     Was  chartered  in  1914  by 

the    German    Navy   to    serve    as    a 

training  airship. 

LZ.  14 

L.  1 

158 

14.8 

22,465 

540 

76 

First   German  naval  airship.  —  New 

(October,  1912) 

type.      Four   Maxims   on   the   cars, 

one    on    the    roof    near    the    bow. 

Wireless  carrying  300  km.    Best  en- 

durance :   1,900  km.  in  31  hrs.  with 

a    crew    of    21.      Foundered    in    a 

storm  on  Sept.  9th,  1913,  off  Helgo- 

land with  13  of  the  crew. 

LZ.  15 

Z.  I 

141 

14.8 

19,500 

540 

77 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Four  Max- 

(January. 1913) 

ims  on  the  cars.     Best  endurance  : 

165/2    hrs.      Was    destroyed    by    a 

storm  on  her  moorings  near  Karls- 

ruhe on  March  igth,  1913. 

133 


'HE  LZ.  6  (1908-10).     IN  THE  LOWER  RIGHT-HAND  CORNER  THE  THIRD  ENGINE  INSTALLED  AMIDSHIPS. 

134 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

LZ.  16 

Z.  IV 

141 

14.8 

19,500 

540 

77 

Prussian     Army     airship.  —  L.Z.     15 

(March,  1913) 

type.    Best  endurance  i8j4  hrs.  ;  al- 

titude :  2,000  m. 

LZ.  17 

Sachsen 

141 

14.8 

19,500 

540 

76 

Passenger    airship    of    the    Delag 

(May,  1913) 

Line.  —  Made  up  to  Oct.  3ist,  1913, 

206    trips,   aggregating   21,683    km., 

on  which  2,698  passengers  were  car- 

ried. 

LZ.  17a 

(March,  1914) 

149 

14.8 

20,800 

600 

80  ' 

Was  rebuilt  and  re-engined  in  1914 

when  she  was  chartered  by  the  Ger- 

man  Navy  to   serve  as  a  training 

airship. 

LZ.  18 

L.  2 

158 

16.6 

27,000 

720 

80 

Ge'rman  naval  airship.  —  New  type: 

(September,  1913) 

gangway  within  the  hull,  pilot-car 

in    front    of    the    two    engine-cars 

which  contained  two  engines  each. 

19  compartments.     Wireless  carry- 

ing 500  km.     Best  endurance  :  1,000 

km.    in     13    hrs.      Was    destroyed 

through  spontaneous  combustion  on 

Oct.   I7th,    1913,   over  Johannisthal. 

The  crew  of  17  and  a  testing  com- 

mission of  it  were  killed. 

LZ.  19 

Z.  I 

141 

14.8 

19,500 

540 

77 

Prussian     Army     airship.  —  LZ.     15 

(June,  1913) 

type.     Designed  endurance:  20  hrs. 

Best    endurance  :    1,100   km.    in    19 

hrs.     Was    destroyed   by   a    storm 

while    moored    at    Thionville    (Al- 

sace)  on  June  I3th,  1914. 

LZ.  20 

Z.  V 

141 

14.8 

19,500 

540 

77 

Prussian     Army     airship.  —  LZ.     15 

(July,  1913) 

type.    Best  endurance  :  20  hrs.  Was 

re-built  like  the  Sachsen. 

(July,  1914) 

149 

14.8 

20,800 

600 

80 

Tn  the   Great   War   the  Z.    V  per- 

formed  on   the   Russian    front   till 

Sept.  28th,  1914,  when  she  was  shot 

down  near  Warsaw  and  her  crew 

made   prisoners. 

135 


TOP— BOW  AND  STERN  VIEW  OF  THE  Z.IV  (LZ.  16);  BOTTOM—  THE  FORWARD  CAR  OF  THE  Z.IV  AND  OF  THE  L.  i. 

136 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

LZ.  21 

Z.  VI 

141 

14.8 

19,500 

540 

77 

Prussian     Army     airship.  —  LZ.     Jy 

(November,  1913) 

type.   Was  being  re-built  at  the  out- 

(1914) 

149 

14.8 

20,800 

600 

80 

break  of  the  war  like  the  Z.I7. 

LZ.  22 

Z.  VII 

156 

14.8 

22,000 

600 

80 

Prussian   Army   airship  —  Improved 

(January,  1914) 

LZ.  14  type. 

LZ.  23 

Z.  VIII 

156 

14.8 

22,000 

600 

80 

Prussian  Army  airship.  —  Improved 

(February,  1914) 

LZ.  14  type.   Best  altitude  :  2.645  m- 

Was  shot  down  by  French  gunners 

on  August  22nd,  1914,  near  Badon- 

viller     (Lorraine).      Part     of     the 

crew  were  killed. 

LZ.  24 

L.  3 

158 

16.6 

27,000 

800 

80 

German    naval    airship.  —  Improved 

(May,  1914) 

LZ.  18  type.    No   special  pilot-car, 

nor     masked     gangway     however. 

Best  endurance  :  35  hrs.  ;  altitude  : 

2.700  m.     Stranded  in  a  storm  on 

Feb.  I7th,  1915,  near  Esbjerg  (Den- 

mark)   and    was    scuttled    by    her 

commander,  who.  was  subsequently 

interned  with  the  crew. 

LZ.  25 
LZ.  26 
LZ.  27 
LZ.  28 
LZ.  29 

Z..  IX                 (July,  1914) 
Z.  X              (August,  1914) 
Z.  XI       (September,  1914) 
Z.  XII     (September,  1914) 
Z.  XIII       (October.  1914) 

156 

14.8 

22,000 

600 

80 

Prussian  Army  airships  of  the  im- 
proved LZ.  14  type.    Built  at  Fried- 
richshafen.      Vessels    of    this    type 
have  been   built   in   large  numbers 
until  the  summer  of  1915,  when  the 

new  type  of  Army  airship  was  pro- 

duced which   follows. 

LZ.  77  type 

(1915-16) 

156 

16 

25,000 

840 

85 

Four   Maybach   engines   of   greater 
power;  one,  mounted  on  the  bow- 

car,  driving  one  pusher-screw  and 

three,  on  the  stern-car,  driving  tri- 

ple-screws.     Designed    endurance  : 

25  hrs.     Crew  of  16.     Altitude  :  3,- 

500  m.     Four  Maxims  on  the  cars  ; 

- 

1  1/2  tons  of  bombs.     One  airship  of 

1.37 


THE  L.  2  [LZ.  18]  (1913). 


138 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

this  type  (Works  No.  LZ.  77)  was 

, 

shot   down  by  French   gunners  on 

Feb.  2nd,  1916,  near  Revigny.     An- 

other  Army   airship   of    the    same 

type  (Works  No.  LZ.  85)  was  shot 

down   by   the    Franco-British    fleet 

on   May   5th,    1916,   near   Salonica> 

In    February,    1917,    the    Prussian 

Army    decided    to    discontinue   the 

use  of  Zeppelin  airships. 

L.  5     (November,  1914) 
L.  6       (December,  1914) 
L.  8        (February,  1915) 
L.  9            (March,  1915) 
L.  10           (April,  1915) 

158 

16.6 

27,000 

840 

80 

German    naval    airships.*  —  LZ.    24 
'type  ;  fitted  with  .more  powerful  en- 
gines.    Endurance,  fully  loaded,  26 
hrs.     Crew   of    16.      Four   Maxims 
on  the  cars;  l'/2  tons  of  bombs. 

The  L.  5  was  destroyed  on  June 

7th,    1915,   in   the   airship    shed   of 

Evere  (Belgium)  by  aeroplanes  pi- 

loted by  Flight   Sub.-Lieuts.   J.   P. 

Wilson  and  J.  S.  Mills,  R.  N.  A.  S. 

—  The  L.  6  was   destroyed  on  the 

^ame   day   near   Ghent    (Gand)    by 

an  aeroplane  piloted  by  Flight  Sub.- 

Lieut.  R.  Warneford,  V.  C,  R.  N. 

A.  S.  —  The  L.  8  broke  up  on  landing 

by  night,  on  March  5th,  1915,  near 

Tirlemont.  —  The    L.    lo,    while    re- 

turning from  a  raid  on  England  on 

Aug.  roth,  1915,  was  wrecked  in  the 

harbour   of    Ostende   by   the    Dun- 

kirk squadron  of  the  R.  N.  A.  S. 

*  According  to  an  article  by  "Austerlitz"  in  The  Aeroplane,  London,  Jan.  3rd,  1907. 

139 


THE   END   OF   THE   L.   75  (1915). 


140 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

L.  11  (July,  1915) 

160 

17.5 

30,000 

1,050 

85 

German    naval    airships.  —  Five    en- 

L. 12—  L.  19 

gines  ;    two    on    each    car    driving 

(August  to 
November,  1915) 

twin-screws,    the    fifth    engine    on 
the    stern-car    driving   one   pusher- 

screw.       Designed     endurance  :     26 

hrs.  ;   altitude  :   3,500  m.      Crew   of 

16.     Four  Maxims  on  the  cars  and 

one  on  the  roof,  near  the  bow.     2 

tons  of  bombs. 

The   L.    15   was   damaged,    while 

raiding  England,  by  A.-A.  guns  and 

by  Lieut.  A.  de  B.  Brandon,  R.  F. 

C.,   and   came   down   on   April    1st, 

1916,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Thames, 

where  the  crew  scuttled  the  airship 

and  surrendered.  —  The  L.  18  caught 

fire  and  blew  up  on  Nov.  I7th,  1915, 

in  the  airship  dock  of  Tondern.  — 

The  L.   19  was   damaged  by  A.-A. 

guns    while    raiding    England    and 

• 

foundered  on  Feb.  2nd,  1916,  in  the 

North  Sea  with  the  entire  crew. 

L.  20—  L.  29* 

170 

20 

35,000 

1,260 

95 

German    naval    airships.  —  Six    en- 

(November, 1915,  to  April, 

gines  ;    triple-screws   on   both   cars. 

1916) 

Designed  endurance  :  30  hrs.  ;  alti- 

tude :  3,500  m.   Crew  of  18.   Masked 

gangway,  like  on  LZ.   18,  fitted  as 

a  bomb-chamber.     One  12  mm.  ma- 

chine gun   each   on  the   roof   near 

the  bow  and,  one  on  the  bow-car; 

two  Maxims  each  on  the  cars  and 

the     bomb-chamber,    firing    broad- 

sides.    2l/2  tons  of  bombs. 

*  Minus  L.  21,  which  was  a  Schiitte-Lanz  airship. 


141 


THE   END   OF   THE   L.  20  (1916). 
142 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

The   L.   20  stranded   on   May   3rd, 

1916,    near    Stavanger     (Norway), 

having  run  out  of  fuel  and  drifted 

with     the    wind    while    homeward 

bound    from    a    raid   on    Scotland. 

The   crew   were   interned   and   the 

airship  was  blown  up  by  the  Nor- 

wegian authorities  as  a  measure  of 

precaution.  —  The    L.    22    was    shot 

down   on    May    I4th,    1917,'  in   the 

North  Sea,  by  a  British  seaplane. 

L.  30  —  L.  40 

207            22 

54,000 

1,500 

105 

German   naval  airships.  —  Six   May- 

(May,  1916,  to  January, 
1917) 

bach  engines  of  a  new  model  ;  one 
pusher-screw  each  on  the  bow-car 

and     central     twin-cars      ("power- 

eggs")    and    triple-screws    on    the 

stern-car.     Designed  -endurance  :  30 

hrs.  ;   altitude  :   4,000  m.     Crew   of 

22.    Two  12  mm.  machine  guns  car- 

ried side-by-side  on  the  roof,  near 

the  bow,  on  collapsible  tripods;  one 

such    gun    on    the    roof,    near    the 

stern.     Six  Maxims,  viz.,  two  each 

on  the  bow  and  stern  cars  and  one 

each  on  the  twin-cars.   Sixty  bombs, 

aggregating  3^  tons,  carried  amid- 

ships   on    racks.      Electro-magnetic 

launching    device.      Masked    gang- 

way, connecting  all  stations. 

The  L.  si  was  shot  down  on  Oct. 

2nd,  1916,  while  raiding  London,  by 

Sec.  Lieut.  W.  J.  Tempest,  R.  F.  C., 

and    fell   near    Potter's   Bar.     The 

crew   were  killed.  —  The  L.   32  was 

shot  down  on  Sept.  24th,  1916,  while 

143 


TWO   SCHEMATIC   VIEWS   OF   THE   L.  33  [LZ.  ?6\  (1916). 


Courtesy  of  The  A  croplane. 


144 


GERMANY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
On) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

raiding   London,   by   Sec.   Lieut.   F. 

Sowrey,  R.  F.  C.     The  crew  were 

killed.  —  The  L.  33  was  disabled  the 

same  day  by  A.-A.  guns  and  landed 

in  Essex,  where  the  crew  scuttled 

the  airship  and  surrendered.  —  Two 

airships,    apparently    pertaining    to 

this  class,  were  shot  down  on  Nov. 

a8th-29th,  1916:  one  off  Durham  by 

Sec.   Lieut.   I.   V.    Pyott,   R.    F.   C., 

and    one    off    Norfolk    by    Flight- 

Lieuts.  E.  Cadbury,  G.  W.  R.  Fane 

and   Flight-Sub.-Lieut.   E.  L.   Pull- 

ing,   R.    N.   A.    S.     The   crews   of 

both  airships  were  killed.  —  The  L. 

39  was  shot  down,  while  homeward 

bound  from  a  raid  on  England,  by 

French    gunners    on    March     iyth, 

1917,   near   Compiegne.     The  crew 

were  killed. 

(Numbers  unknown) 

235 

25 

70,000 

1,750  or 

110 

German   naval   airships.  —  Seven  or 

2,000 

eight    engines  ;    same    drive    as    on 

L.  30  class  except  for  twin  or  triple- 

screws  on  the  bow-car.     Designed 

endurance  :  40  hrs.  ;  altitude  :  4,000 

m.     Armament:    (i)    four   12  mm. 

machine  guns  mounted  in  pairs  on 

the  roof,  fore  and  aft   (or  in  gun- 

embrasures)  ;  (2)  six  Maxims,  like 

on  L.  30  class. 

An  airship  of  this  class  is  said  to 

have  been  destroyed  by  French  avi- 

ators, on   Sept.   22nd,   1916,   in   the 

airship   dock  of   Rheinau  ;   another 

airship    of    this    class    appears    to 

have  been  wrecked  in  a  storm  on 

Nov.  2ist,   1916,  near  Mayence. 

145 


THE 

NEW 
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MERCEDES  MOTOR  . 


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THE  EARLY  CAR. 


XHHKEW10CII  100(5  IT  HflBZflHWBf 
IKVBTC  IT  JINKING  THI  (SOUND  WHEN  LANDING. 


Courtesy  of  the  Illustrated  London  News. 

COMPARATIVE   VIEWS   OF   THE   EARLY   AND   THE   NEW   FORWARD   CAR   OF   ZEPPELIN    AIRSHIPS. 


.    146 


GERMANY— Continued 

Zorn,  Berlin. — Builder  of  a  structure  airship.      Wooden  hull  frame.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  and  trimming  tanks. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Zorn 

(1910) 

120 

13.8 

13,600 

210 

Experimental  airship.  —  Three  Ar- 
gus engines  ;  three  pairs  of  twin- 
screws.  Three  cars.  On  her  trials 
the  airship  did  not  prove  satisfac- 
tory and  was  eventually  dismantled. 

GREAT  BRITAIN 

"Airships",  Ltd.,  Hendon,  N.  W. — Builders  of  pressure  airships  to  the  Astra  and  Astra-Torres  patents. 


Armstrong,  Whitworth  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. — Builders  of 
Signor  E.  Forlanini's  patents.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type  to 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

AW-l 

(Laid  down,  1913) 

90 

18 

15,000 

320     . 

80 

British     naval     airship.  —  Four     en- 

gines ;  twin-screws. 

AW-2 

(Laid  down,  1913) 

90 

18 

15,000 

320 

80 

British  naval  airship.—  As  above. 

AW-3 

(Laid  down,  1913) 

25,000 

1,000 

100 

British  naval  airship. 

Barton  (F.  A.),  London. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type, 
tanks.     Suspension  hems  stiffened  by  bamboo  strips. 


Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  and  trimming 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Barton 

51.8 

12.5 

6,440 

100 

25 

Experimental  airship,  built  with  the 

(July,  1905) 

financial  assistance  of  the  War  Of- 

fice.   Ballonet  :  1,200  me.    Two  Bu- 

chet  engines,  each  driving  one  twin 

set  of  propellers  consisting  of  three 

co-axial  screws.     Made  on  July  22, 

1905,    a    partially    controlled    flight 

over  London  (40  km.),  but  drifted 

on  landing  into  some  trees  and  was 

wrecked. 

barton  -  "Barton"     (1905) 


• 


5pencer     "Mellin"    (I902) 


148 


GREAT  BRITAIN 

Beedle  (W.),  London. — Builder  of  a  structure  airship. 


Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Beedle 

(1901) 

30.5 

4.9 

500 

28 

Experimental  airship.  One  auto- 
mobile engine;  twin-screws.  (Data 
and  photo  wanted.) 

Bell  (Hugh) ,  London. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type.     Keel  of  steel  tubing,  running  from  end  to  end. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Bell 

(1848) 

17 

6.5 

Propulsion  by  manually  operated 
twin-screws.  The  trials,  which  took 
place  at  Vauxhall  Gardens,  did  not 
furnish  appreciable  results. 

Buchanan  (F.)»  London. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

i 

Buchanan 

(1902) 

30.5 

1,260 

The  trials  were  not  successful. 
(Photo,  or  sketch,  and  additional 
data  wanted.) 

Gaudron  (Auguste),  London.  —  Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  girderless  type.     Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 

Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Gaudron 

(May,  1898) 

18.3 

8.5 

600 

2 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Sie- 
mens electric  motor  ;  one  tractor 
screw.  On  her  trials  the  airship 
made  a  partially  controlled  voyage 
over  London,  at  the  conclusion  of 
which  she  was,  however,  unable  to 
return  against  the  wind  to  her 
starting  place  and  was  voluntarily 
stranded  by  the  pilot. 

140 


THE  NULLI-SECUNDUS  (1907)  AND  THE  BABY  (1909). 


GREAT  BRITAIN— Continued 

Royal  Aircraft  Factory  (formerly  Army  Balloon  Factory),  Farnborough.— Builders  of  pressure  airships  to  various 
designs.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes  and  (on  later  models)  by  swivelling  screws. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 
(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Nulli-Secundus 

(September,  1907) 

33.9 

9.2 

2,400 

50 

30 

Experimental   airship,   built   to   the 
designs  of   Colonel   Capper  and   S. 

F.  Cody.  —  Keel-girder  type;  hull  of 
goldbeater's    skin.      Ballonet:    400 

me.     One  Antoinette  engine  ;  twin- 

screws.     Was  badly  damaged  by  a 

storm  on  Oct.  loth,  1007,  near  Lon- 

don, whither  the  airship  had  flown 

from  Farnborough. 

la 

Dirigible  II 

36.6 

9.2 

2,700 

100 

32 

Was  re-built  and  fitted  with  a  bal- 

(July,  1908) 

lonet  of  500  me.  and  a  second  An- 

toinette  engine,   but  proved   unsat- 

isfactory and  was  eventually  broken 

up. 

2 

Baby 

(May,  1909) 

25.6 

7.6 

600 

16 

29 

British    Army    airship.-  —  Car-girder 
type  ;  inflated  fins.    Two  Buchet  en- 

gines ;  one  pusher-screw  above  the 

car. 

2a 

Beta 

31.7 

7.6 

S45 

30 

40 

Was    re-built    and   fitted   with   one 

(June,  1910) 

Green    engine   driving   twin-screws 

and    with    surface    fins.     Thus    al- 

tered  the  Beta    (ex-Baby)    proved 

a  very  successful  vessel  for  her  size 

and    made   trips    aggregating   5,000 

km.    till    1913,    when   she   was    dis- 

mantled. 

3 

No.  2A 

(February,  1910) 

46 

7.6 

1,200 

80 

British   Army  airship.  —  One  Green 
engine  ;     twin-screws.       Was     little 

successful. 

151 


r 


GREAT  BRITAIN 


Royal  Aircraft   Factory -"Beta"    (1910) 


Royal  Aircraft    Factory  -  'Gamma"  (1910) 


Royal  Aircraft    Factory  -   "Delta"    (1912") 


152 


GREAT  BRITAIN— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 
(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

4 

Gamma 

46 

9.1 

2,265 

100 

45 

British  Army  airship.*  —  One  Green 

(July,  1910) 

engine;      swivelling      twin-screws. 

• 

Car-girder  type. 

5 

Delta 

60 

13.4 

4,530 

200 

60 

British  Army  airship.*  —  Car-girder 

(1912) 

type.   Two  Wolseley  engines;  swiv- 

elling twin-screws. 

g 

Eta 

6,000 

300 

British  Army  airship.*  —  Car-girder 

(1913) 

type.     Two  Salmson  engines  ;  swiv- 

elling twin-screws. 

*  In  July,  1914, 
Naval  Air  Service. 


the  British  Army  airships  were  transferred  to  the  (then)  newly  created  Airship  Section  of  the  Royal 


Short  Brothers   Battersea  Park,  London,  S.  W.  —  Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 

Spencer  (C.  G.  &  Sons),  London.  —  Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs.    Trim  controlled  by  ballast. 

Works 

Name 

Length 

Beam 

Volume 

Power 

Speed 

Nntoa 

No. 

Trials 

(m) 

(m) 

(me) 

(h.P.) 

(km) 

i 

Mellin 

23 

6.1 

560 

8 

25 

Experimental    airship.     Car-girder, 

(June,  1902) 

pressure  type.     One   Siemens   elec- 

tric    motor  ;      one     tractor-screw. 

Made  on  Sept.  ipth,  1902,  a  partial- 

ly controlled  flight  from  London  to 

Harrow  (32  km.),  but  lacked  pow- 

er  to    return,   against   a   moderate 

wind,  to  her  starting  place. 

2 

Spencer  II 

28.4 

7.3 

840 

24 

Experimental  airship  of  the  struc- 

(No trials) 

ture  type.    Aluminum  hull  ;  8  com- 

partments.    Fabric  skin.     One  An- 

toinette engine;  one  tractor  screw. 

Laid  down  in   1903,  was  not  com- 

pleted. 

153 


\GREAT BRITAIN^ 


Vickers  -'H.M.A.N"!"    (1911) 


GREAT  BRITAIN— Continued 

Vickers,  Sons  and  Maxim,  Ltd.,  Barrow-in-Furness. — Builders  of  structure  airships  to  their  own  designs  and  of  girderless 
pressure  airships  to  the  Parseval  patents.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes.     (Vickers  type.) 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

No.  1 

(Laid  down,  1910) 

155 

14.6 

19,890 

430 

British     naval     airship.  —  Structure 
type;    19  gas-cells.     Hull-frame  of 

duralumin.     Two  Wolseley  engines 

mounted  in  two  -cars,  the  front  one 

driving   twin-screws,   the'  rear   one 

driving     one     pusher-screw.        On 

Sept.  24th,  IQTI,  while  being  towed 

out   of   her   shed,   the   airship    was 

blown  against  the  shed  and  broke 

in  two.     She  was  never  repaired. 

2 

No. 

23,000 

British     naval     airship.  —  Structure 

(Laid  down,  1913) 

type. 

3 

No. 

(Laid  down,  1913) 

84 

15.5 

12,000 

<00 

75 

British      naval      airship.  —  Parseval 
girderless  pressure  type. 

4 

No. 

(Laid  down,  1913) 

84 

15.5 

12,000 

400 

75 

British  naval  airship.  —  As  above. 

5 

No. 

(Laid  chwn.  1913) 

84 

15.5 

12,000 

400 

75 

British  naval  airship.  —  As  above. 

Willows  (E.  T.),  Cardiff.— Builder  of  pressure  airsh'ps  of  the  car-girder  and  keel-girder  types.  Trim  controlled  by  swivelling 
screws. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

No.  1 

(1905) 

22.6 

5.5 

340 

7 

30 

Experimental      airship.  —  Car-girder 
type.      One    Peugeot    engine;    one 

pusher-screw  and  one  pair  of  twin- 

* 

screws   (the  latter  swivelling).     No 

rudder,  nor  elevator.   Notwithstand- 

ing  her    small   power,   this    airship 

handled  satisfactorily. 

155 


Willows  -"N91"    (1905) 


8EP 


Willows  -"N92"   (1909) 


150 


GREAT  BRITAIN— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

2 

No.  2 

26.2 

6.7 

600 

30 

35 

Excursion  airship  of  Mr.  Willows. 

(November,  1909) 

Keel-girder  type.     One  J.  A.  P.  en- 

gine ;  one  pair  of  swivelling  twin- 

' 

screws.     Made  many  trips,  includ- 

ing  one    from    Cardiff   to   London 

2a 

City-of-Cardiff 

36.5 

7 

910 

30 

35 

(225  km.  in  9  hrs.).     Was  re-built. 

(1910) 

Flew  on  Nov.  4th,   1910,  with  two 

on  board  from  London,  across  the 

Channel  to  Douai   (iol/2  hrs.). 

3 

No.  4 

30.5 

6.1 

670 

35 

55 

British   naval   airship.  —  Keel-girder 

(October,  1912) 

type.     One  Anzani  engine  ;  swivel- 

ling twin-screws.     Built  to  be  car- 

ried on  board  ships. 

4 

No.  5 

39.6 

7.9 

1,400 

70 

60 

Excursion  airship  of  Mr.  Willows. 

(1913) 

—  Swivelling  twin-screws. 

ITALY 

Army  Airship  Works,  Vigna  di  Valle  (Rome). — Builders  of  pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type  to  the  designs  of  captains 
Crocco  and  Ricaldoni.  Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes.  Gas-tight  compartments.  Articulated  girder,  consisting  of  a 
Gall's  chain,  inserted  in  the  bottom  of  the  hull. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

No.  1 

63 

10 

2,750 

105 

51 

Experimental      airship.  —  One      Cle- 

(October, 1908) 

ment-Bayard    engine;    twin-screws. 

Ballonet  :  500  me.    7  compartments. 

Fitted     with     a     rigid     keel-girder, 

which  was  converted  into  an  articu- 

lated one  at  the  re-construction. 

la 

No.  1-bis 

60 

10.5 

3,450 

105 

52 

Ballonet  :  650  me.    Best  endurance  : 

(August,  1909) 

300  km.  in  7  hrs.     Was  again  re- 

1 

built. 

157 


THE  WILLOWS  CITY  OF  CARDIFF  (1910)  AND  THE  CAR  OF  THE  No.  4  (1912). 

158 


ITALY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name                 Length 
Trials                      (m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

lb 

P.  1 

60 

11.6 

4,200 

105 

52 

Ballonet  :  800  me.    Best  endurance  : 

(1910) 

470  km.  in   14  hrs.     Served  as  an 

Army    training   airship    until    1914. 

when  she  was  dismantled. 

2                P.  2     (1910)  \ 

63 

11.6 

4,400 

120 

52 

Italian    Army    airships.  —  One    Cle- 

3               P.  3     (1911)  / 

ment-Bayard    engine  ;    twin-screws. 

Designed  endurance  :  10  hrs.     Alti- 

tude :    1,600  m.     Ballonet  :  900  me. 

Both    airships    took    a    prominent 

part  in  Italy's  Lybian  campaign,  be- 

ing the  first  airships  to  see  actual 

war  service.    The  P.2  was  disman- 

tled in  1914. 

4 

P.  4     (November,  I912)\ 

63 

12 

4,700 

160 

65 

Italian    Army     airships.  —  Ballonet  : 

5 

P.  5      (December,  1912)  / 

1,200  me.    Two  F.  I.  A.  T.  engines  ; 

twin-screws.     Designed  endurance  : 

12  hrs.  at  2,000  m.  altitude.     Best 

endurance:  460  km.  in  9  hrs.    (for 

P.5)- 

The  P.  4  (called  also  the  Citta  di 

lesi)   made  during  the  Great  War 

numerous   raids   on    Dalmatia   and 

Istria  and  was   destroyed  by  Aus- 

trian seaplanes  on  Aug.  5th,   1915, 

while   raiding   Pola.  —  The   P.  5  was 

destroyed  by  Austrian  seaplanes  on 

Aug.  I2th,  1916,  in  the  airship  shed 

of  Campalto. 

6 

M.  1 

83 

17 

12,000 

500 

70 

Italian   Army   airship.  —  8   compart- 

(1912) 

ments.     Armoured  car.     Two  F.  I. 

A.    T.    engines  ;    twin-screws.     De- 

signed  endurance  :  24  hrs. 

7 

M.  2 

83 

17 

12,100 

500 

70 

Italian      naval      airship.  —  Improved 

(Summer,  1913) 

M.I  type.     Four  Wolseley  engines. 

Best    endurance:    1,000   km.    in    21 

ISO 


Army  Airship  Works  -  "P "  Class  (I9ICH2) 


Army  Airship  Works  -'M'  Class   (1912-16) 


1 60 


ITALY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

hrs.     Called  also  the  Cittd  di  Fer- 

rara.     Was  shot  down  by  Austrian 

seaplanes  on  June  8th,   1915,  while 

homeward   bound    from   a   raid   on 

Fiume. 

8 

M.  3 

C3 

17 

12,100 

520 

70 

Italian    Army    airships.  —  M.2    type. 

(October,  1913)   I 

.  Four  Clement-Bayard  engines. 

9 

M.  4 

The  M  .3  was  shot  down  by  Aus- 

(January, 1914)  J 

trian  A.  -A.  guns  on  May  4th,  1916. 

near     Gorizia,     while    homecoming 

from  a  raid  on  Lubiana. 

10 

V.  1 

EO 

20 

14,650 

400 

93 

Italian    naval    airship.  —  New    type, 

(February,  1915) 

built  to  the  designs  of  Capt.  Ver- 

duzio.     Rigid  keel-girder  of  trian- 

gular  trellis-work  within   the   hull. 

Ballonet:    4,800    me.      12    compart- 

ments.      Two     Maybach     engines  ; 

twin-screws.     Designed  endurance  : 

15  hrs.  at  full  speed  and  2,000  m. 

altitude. 

11 

M.  5 

C3 

17 

12,100 

520 

70 

Italian  Army  airship.  —  M.2  type. 

(April,  1916) 

• 

12-13 

G.  1—  G.  2 

20,000 

800 

80 

Italian     naval     airships.  —  Structure 

(Laid  down  1914) 

type.  

Da  Schio  (Count  A'merico),  Vicenza  (Venetia). — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder  type.     Particular  feature: 
hull  fitted  with  an  elastic  underside,  doing  away  with  the  ballonet.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

<h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Italia 

(June,  1905) 

39.2 

G 

1,200 

12 

30 

Experimental  airship,  built  with  the 
financial  assistance  of  the  late  King 
Humbert  I.  —  .One  Buchet  engine  ; 

161 


TOP— THE  LEONARDO  DA    VINCI  (1909);  BOTTOM— THE  CITTA  DI  MILANO  (1913)   AND  HER  CAR. 

162  ' 


ITALY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 
(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

one  tractor  screw.     Made  only  one 

ascent  ;  was  subsequently  fitted  with 

a     new     hull     and     made     another 

ascent  in  1009,  at  the  conclusion  of 

which   she   was   partly   wrecked   bv 

the  wind. 

2 

Italia-II 

50 

10.5 

2,600 

50 

40 

Experimental    airship.  —  One    S.    P. 

(1913) 

A.  engine  ;  twin-screws.     (Informa- 

tion    wanted     regarding     perform- 

ances.) 

For,anini  (Enrico),  Baggio  (Lombardy). — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  keel-girder  type  to  the  designs  of  E.  Forlanini 
and  Capt.  dal  Fabbro.  Features:  metal  keel,  built  into  the  envelope,  containing  the  nacelle;  ballonet  heated  by  the  engine- 
exhaust.  No  cable  suspension.  Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes.  Double  envelope. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 
(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Leonardo  da  Vinci 

40 

14 

3,265* 

40  . 

50 

Experimental      airship.  —  Ballonet  : 

(November,  1909) 

350    me.      One    Antoinette    engine  ; 

twin-screws.     One  2  h.p.   auxiliary 

engine  for  ballonet  blowers.     Laid 

down  to  be  propelled  by  a  too  h.p. 

steam  engine.     Highly  satisfactory 

trials  in  spite  of  small  power  plant. 

Best  endurance  :  3  hrs. 

2 

Citta  di  Milano 

72 

18 

11,800* 

170 

63 

Italian    Army    airship.  —  Purchased 

(August,  1913) 

by    a   popular    subscription    of    the 

citizens  of  Milan.    Two  Isotta-Fra- 

schini   engines  ;   twin-screws.      Best 

endurance:   150  km.  in  2  hrs.   (Mi- 

lan-Turin).    Was  partly  destroyed 

on   Apr.   pth,    1914,   near   Cantii   by 

an  explosion  while  about  to  land. 

*  Gas  capacity. 


163 


ITALY 


Da  Schio-" Italia"     (19O5) 


Piccoli-"  Ausoma"   (1909) 


, 


Usaelli    &  5orsalin~  -  "Usuel'i'        i9IO) 


164 


ITALY— Continued 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 
(h.p.) 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

3 

F.  3 

90 

18 

13,800* 

400 

74       :    Italian  naval  airship.  —  Four  F.  I.  A. 

(1915) 

T.  engines;  twin-screws.    Designed 

endurance  :  45  hrs.  at  75  km.  and 

90  hrs.  at  59  km. 

4 

No. 

90 

18 

13,900* 

320 

73 

British     naval     airship.  —  Two     en- 

(November, 1914) 

gines;  twin-screws.     Endurance  as 

above. 

5 

F.  5 

(Building) 

90 

20 

17,800* 

480 

70 

Italian     Army     airship.  —  Two     en- 
gines; twin-screws. 

6 

F.  6 

90 

20 

17,800* 

760 

75 

Italian     Navy    airship.  —  Four     en- 

(Building) 

gines;  twin-screws. 

Piccoli  (Nico),  Magre  (Venetia). — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder  type.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

Ausonia 

42 

8.3 

1,800 

40 

40 

Excursion  airship  belonging  to  her 

(1909) 

builder.     One  S.  P.  A.  engine;  one 

tractor    screw.      Designed    endur- 

ance :  8  hrs.     Was  partly  wrecked 

by    the    storm    when    landing    on 

June   loth,   1910,  at  Mantua.     Was 

la 

Ausonia-bis 

37 

7.8 

1,500 

55 

40 

re-built  and  re-fitted  with  a  larger 

(1910) 

S.    P.    A.    engine,    but    was    again 

wrecked  by  the  storm. 

Usuelli  &  Borsalino,  Turin. — Builders  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder  type.    Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Usuelli 

(August.  1910) 

51 

9.8 

3,870 

100 

50 

Excursion  airship  belonging  to  her 
builders.  Car-girder  type.  One  S. 
P.  A.  engine  ;  twin-screws.  Best  en- 
durance: 150  km.  (Turin  to  Mi- 
lan). Was  partly  wrecked  by  the 
storm  when  landing,  on  May  I3th. 
1913,  near  Musocco. 

'  Gas  Capacity. 


165 


THE   YAMADA    No.  2  (1910). 
1 66 


JAPAN 

Army  Airship  Works,  Tokorozawa. — Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 
Cm) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

(Building) 

130 

20,000 

1,200 

72 

Army  airship,  structure  type.  Four 
engines.  Designed  endurance  :  30 
hrs.  Crew  :  20. 

Yamada  (Isaburo),  Tokyo. — Builder  of  pressure  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(kr-> 

Notes 

i 

No.  1 

Experimental    airship    of    the   kite- 

(1904) 

balloon  type.     Was  not   successful 

and  was  converted  into  a  kite-bal- 

loon    during     the     Russo-Japanese 

war.     (Data  wanted.)  ' 

2 

No.  2 

35 

7.5 

1,400 

50 

22 

Experimental  airship  of  the  car-gir- 

(1910) 

der  type.    One  ballonet.   One  Maxi- 

motor    engine  ;    one    pusher-screw. 

Was     wrecked     by     the     wind     in 

March,   1911. 

3 

I 
(1911) 

58 

9.4 

3,000 

72 

Japanese  Army  airship.  —  Car-girder 
type.    Two  Koerting  engines  ;  twin- 

screws.        (Information     regarding 

performances  wanted.) 

4 

II 

/1QI  9\ 

58 

9.4 

3,000 

75 

Japanese  Army  airship.  —  As  above. 

\<T\i) 

excepting  the  power  plant,  which  is 



' 

one  Koerting  engine. 

167 


i68 


RUSSIA 

Army  Airship  Works,  Petrograd. — Builders  of  airships  to  'various  designs. 


Works 

Name 

Length 

Beam 

Volume 

Power 

Speed 

Notes 

No. 

Trials 

(m) 

(m) 

(me) 

(h.p.) 

(km) 

i 

Outchebny 

1,800 

50 

33 

Experimental    airship,   built   to   the 

(September,  1908) 

designs     of     Captain    A.     Chabsky. 

Girderless  pressure  type.     One  Vi- 

vinus     engine;     one     pusher-screw. 

Served  for  years  as  a  training  air- 

ship for  the  Russian  Army. 

2 

Kretchet 

70 

14 

5,680 

200 

53 

Russian     Army    airship.  —  Built    to 

* 

(1911) 

Messrs.    Lebaudy    Freres'    designs. 

Keel-girder,    pressure    type.      Two 

Panhard-Levassor     engines  ;     twin- 

screws. 

3 

(BuMng) 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  (Data  and 

photo  wanted.) 

Danilewsky,  Kharkoff.  —  Builder  of  two  small  pressure  airships  propelled  by  flapping  wings  which  were  operated  by  the  pilot 

through  a  bicycle  transmission.    Various  ascents  were  made  in  1  897  and  1  898,  but  no  practical  results  were  achieved. 

"Doux"  Aircraft  Works,  Moskow. — Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Yastreb 

(1910) 

50 

13 

2,500 

70 

47 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  One  Dan- 
sette-Gillet  engine;  one  pusher- 
screw.  (Photo  wanted.) 

169 


Fors5mann  -  "F.T    (1910) 


Ijora  -"Goloub"  (1910) 


170 


RUSSIA— Continued 

Duflou  &  Constantinovitch,  Petrograd. — Builders  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder  type.    Trim  controlled  by  lifting 
planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Kobtchik 

(1912) 

48 

9.5 

2,150 

90 

50 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  Two  en- 
gines ;  two  pairs  of  twin-screws. 
Built  to  modified  designs  of  the  Zo- 
diac Co.  (Photo  wanted.) 

Forszmann  (v.),  Petrograd. — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  girderless  type.    Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes.    Riedinger 
hulls 


Works 

No 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

• 

i 

2 

F.  1 

(1910) 
F.  2 
(1911) 

37 
35 

6 

6 

800 
600 

40 

25 

37 
35 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  One  Koert- 
ing  engine;  one  pusher-screw. 
Russian  Army  airship.  —  One  Koert- 
ing  engine  ;  one  pusher-screw. 

Kostevitch,  Petrograd. — Builder  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keel-girder  type,  which  was  tested  in  November,  1908.    (Photo 
and  data  wanted.) 

"Ijora"  Aircraft  Works,  Petrograd. — Builders  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder  type.     Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 
(km) 

Notes 

i 

2 
3 

Golub 
(1910) 
Sokol 

(1911) 

Albatros 

(1914) 

46 
50 

9.5 
10 

2,270 
2,500 
8,000 

75 
80 
300 

50 

54 
61 

Russian  Army  airship.  —  One  Koert- 
ing  engine  ;  twin-screws. 
Russian     Army     airship.  —  One     De 
Dion-Bouton  engine  ;  twin-screws. 
Russian  Army  airship.  —  Two  Koert- 
ing   engines;    twin-screws.      (Data 
and  photo  wanted.) 

SPAIN 


Army  Airship  Works       Torres -Quevedo"    (1907) 


172 


.  RUSSIA— Continued 

Russo-Baltic  Aircraft  Works,  Riga. — Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

(Building) 

80 

13,000 

320 

Experimental  airship  of  the  Rus- 
sian Army.  —  -Structure  type,  built 
to  the  designs  of  General  Kovanko. 
Two  engines  ;  two  pairs  of  twin- 
screws. 

SPAIN 

Army  Airship  Works,  Guadalajara. — Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Torres-Quevedo                          36 

6 

960 

48 

Experimental   airship,   built   to   the 

(August,  1907) 

designs   of    Sr.   L.   Torres-Quevedo 

and    Capt.    A.    Kindelan    for    the 

Centro    de   Ensayos     Aeronauticos 

(Aeronautical  Experiment  Centre), 

created  by  the   Spanish   Chambers. 

—Tension-truss  pressure  type;  two 

Antoinette     engines  ;     twin-screws. 

Trim    controlled    by    ballonets    and 

self-shifting  car.     The  trials  were 

sufficiently   satisfactory  to  warrant 

the  purchase  of  Sr.  Torres-Queve- 

do's  patents  by  the  Astra  Co. 

2 

Alfonso  XIII 

Spanish      Army      airship.  —  Torres- 

(1915) 

Quevedo   type.      Blew   up   on   Aug. 

loth,  1915,  in  the  airship  harbour  of 

Guadalajara.       (Data     and     photo 

wanted.) 

173 


THE  U.  S.  ARMY  TRAINING  AIRSHIP  No.  I  (1908). 
174 


UNITED  STATES 

Baldwin  (Thomas  Scott) ,  New  York. — Builder  of  pressure  airships  of  the  car-girder  type.    Trim  controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 
(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

6 

Baldwin-6 

29.1 

5.8 

580 

20 

25 

Exhibition  airship.     Owner:  Thos. 

(1908) 

S.   Baldwin.  —  One    Curtiss   engine; 

one  tractor-screw. 

7 

H.  1 

29.1 

5.8 

580 

20 

28 

Touring    airship    of    Capt.    Hilde- 

(1908) 

brandt,  Berlin.  —  Baldwin-6  type. 

8 

No.  1 

36 

6 

800 

20 

31 

Training  airship  of  the  U.  S.  Army 

(1908) 

Signal  Corps.  —  One  Curtiss  engine; 

one    tractor-screw.     Made    only    a 

limited  number  of  ascents  and  was 

dismantled  in  1910.    Cost  :  $10,000. 

9 

Baldwin-9 

26.2 

6.1 

530 

20. 

35 

Exhibition  airship.     Owner:   Thos. 

(1909) 

S.    Baldwin.  —  One   Curtiss   engine; 

one  tractor-screw. 

10 

Tomlinson 

26.2 

5.5 

500 

20 

36 

Exhibition     airship.       Owner:     C. 

(1909) 

Tomlinson.  —  Baldwin-q   type.     The 

Tomlinson  and  the  Baldwin-!)  par- 

ticipated    in     the     Hudson-Fulton 

Celebration  of   Summer   1909. 

Curtiss  Aeroplane  Company,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. — Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No: 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

2 
3 

DN-41 

DN-5  }•  (Building) 
DN-6J 

48.8 

9.6 

2,180 

100 

72 

Coast  patrol  airships,  U.  S.  Navy.  — 
Girderless  pressure  type.  Trim 
controlled  by  trimming  tanks,  lift- 
ing planes  and  ballonets  (545  me.). 
One  Curtiss  engine  :  one  tractor- 
screw.  Designed  endurance  :  10  hrs. 
at  full  speed;  altitude:  2,300  m. 
Cost  :  $40.750  each. 

175 


THE    U.    S.    NAVY    TRAINING    AIRSHIP    DN.  i  (1917). 


176 


UNITED  STATES— Continued 

Connecticut  Aircraft  Company,  Bridgeport,  Conn.  (U.  S.  A.).— Builders  of  pressure  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

DN-l 

53.4 

10.7 

3,315 

140 

40 

Training  airship,  U.  S.  Navy.  —  Car- 

(April,  1917) 

girder  type.   Ballonet:  425  me.   One 

Sturtevant      engine  ;      twin-screws. 

Trim    controlled   by   ballonets    and 

lifting  planes.  —  Authorized  in  1915. 

Cost:  $46,000. 

2 
3 

DN-2  (Building)  \ 
DN-3  (Building)  / 

48.8 

9.6 

2,180 

100 

72 

Coast  patrol  airships,  U.  S.  Navy.  — 
Girderless     pressure     type.       Trim 

controlled  by  trimming  tanks,  lift- 

ing planes  and  ballonets  (545  me.). 

One    Curtiss    engine  ;    one    tractor- 

screw.   Designed  endurance  :  10  hrs. 

at    full    speed;    altitude:    2,300    m. 

Cost:  $42,000  each. 

Goodyear  Tyre  and  Rubber  Company,  Akron  (Ohio,  U.  S.  A.).— Builders  of  airships  to  various  designs. 


Works 

No 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Akron 

88 

15 

9,800 

280 

50 

Transatlantic    airship,    built   to   the 

(May,  1912) 

designs    of    Mr.    Melvin   Vaniman. 

Keel-girder    type    pressure    airship. 

Trim   controlled   by  lifting  planes. 

compensating  ballonets  and  swivel- 

ling   screws.      "Hydrolevitor"    for 

taking  on  water  ballast.     Two  100 

h.p.   and   one  80  h.p.   engines   each 

driving    one    pair    of    twin-screws, 

the    middle    and    rear    pairs    being 

177 


THE  AKROff  (1912). 
178 


UNITED  STATES— Continued 


Works 
No. 


Name  Length  Beam     Volume    Power    Speed 

Trials  (m)          (m)  (me)          (ko.)        (km) 


Notes 


Z— 10 


DN-7— DN-15 

=       :-4 


-.-.        :  -  '_--.        '.- 

e   driving   Ac  U- 


i   tag  die  wm^ess  pint.    Fitted  win; 
die    lifeboat    of    W.     Wdhnaas 

.-{•vritV-     Blew  19  V  J4r  2nd. 
1912.    oirr    Adaodc    Gtr,    »••% 

"    7  -  T"  -  -        -     -  . 

of    five.    •  ii  rln  Til.    Mr. 

-     -    -     ":i 


•  : 


9.C 


;  :-: 


72 


patrol  air-Ups,  U.  5.  Xary. 
—  GifduloA  pressnre 

_ 

Oce    Cntas   engine;   one  tractor 
Deogpol    eDdn 

" 


screw. 


10 


-  ;         1  '       -  "  _  :          .    .  1    -    -  . 

.  --  f-  :  '  :  •-.::-  I  :::  -- 
*nance  for  O.V-7  <Mar,  1017): 
djo  km.  in  16  fen. 


Goodrich    B.  F.    Cx>mpany,  Akron.  Ohio. — Builders  of  airships  to  various 


Works 
No. 


Name  Length  Beam     Volume     Power    Speed 

Triak (m)  (m)  (me)  (kp.)        (km) 


1 
2 


OS-IS 
H.- 

DH-n 


72 


XaTr.— 

"     " 


1/9 


• 


THE   PASADENA   (1913)- 
1 80 


UNITED  STATES— Continued 

Knabenshue  (Roy),  Pasadena,  Cal. — Builder  of  numerous  airships  of  the  car-girder,  pressure  type,  all  of  which  served  exhibi- 
tion purposes  but  one  which  is  listed  herewith. 


Works 

No. 

Name 

Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

Pasadena 

(1913) 

45.8 

9.2 

2,133 

39 

50 

Excursion  airship.  —  Designer  :  Mr. 
Charles  F.  Willard.  One  Hansen 
engine;  twin-screws.  Trim  con- 
trolled by  lifting  planes.  The  Pas- 
adena made  in  1913  and  1914  nu- 
merous trips  with  passengers  in 
California  and  near  Chicago. 

Knabenshue  Aircraft  Corporation,  New  York.  —  Builders  of  pressure  airships. 

National  Airship  Company,  Berkeley,  Cal. — Builders,  to  the  designs  of  Mr.  Morrell,  of  a  girderless  pressure  airship. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 
(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

i 

Morrell 

(May,  1908) 

157.5 

10 

12,580 

180 

? 

Six  Hansen  engines  ;  six  pairs  of 
twin-screws.  No  ballonet.  Six 

cars.  Disastrous  trials  :  the  airship 
lost  her  shape  in  mid-air  and 
stranded  on  a  row  of  houses,  kill- 

ing three  and  injuring  six  of  the 
crew.  Cost  :  $40,000. 

181 


A  U.  S.  NAVY  SCOUT  AIRSHIP  (1917). 
182 


UNITED  STATES— Continued 

Rekar  Airship  Construction  Company,  Portland,  Ore. — Builders  of  a  structure  airship. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Preble-Rekar 

76.3 

7.6 

4,000 

Was  not  completed. 

Riggs  &  Rice,  New  York. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  car-girder  type.     Designer,  A.  Leo  Stevens. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h-p.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

l 

American  Eagle 
(November,  1909) 

30.5 

7.6 

980 

35 

Experimental  airship.  —  One  Hansen 
engine  ;  twin-screws  and  one  trac- 
tor-screw. Was  not  successful,  al- 
though short  ascents  were  made. 

Toliver  Aerial  Navigation  Company,  San  Diego,  Cal. — Builders  of  a  pressure  airship  of  the  keelrgirder  type.      Trim 
controlled  by  lifting  planes. 


Works 

No. 

Name 
Trials 

Length 

(m) 

Beam 

(m) 

Volume 

(me) 

Power 

(h.P.) 

Speed 

(km) 

Notes 

1 

Toliver 

(Laid  down  191!) 

76.3 

12.2 

Was   not  completed. 

U.  S.  Army  &  Navy  Joint  Board,  Washington,  D.  C. — The  construction  of  an  experimental  structure  airship,  called  the 
DR-l ,  has  been  decided  upon  in  1917. 


TOP— THE   MORRELL  (1908);  BOTTOM— THE   AMERICAN  EAGLE  (190. 

184 


II.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  PRODUCTION 


185 


II.    THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  PRODUCTION 

(VOLUME  IN  CUBIC  METERS) 


Country 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

Belgium 

Brazil 

3,900 

5,230 

7,464 

3,440 

2,100 

3,400 

10,400 

500 

1,820 

• 

840 

6,440 

Itnlv 

1,200 

, 

Total                                -.  -  • 

5,730 

9,284 

8,180 

2,100 

21,440 

1 86 


II.    THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  PRODUCTION 

(VOLUME  IN  CUBIC  METERS) 


-Continued 


Country. 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

3  150 

4  goo 

2  700 

Brazil  

3,930 

10,700 

7  540 

21  950 

43  155 

13,730 

16  600 

39  500 

25  720 

50  350 

Great  Britain  

2,400 

1,200 

5  140 

Italy  

2  750 

5  065 

8  780 

Japan     

1  400 

Russia  

1,800 

5,570 

Spain  

960 

United  States  

14  540 

6  010 

Total 

17,660 

30  660 

66  130 

65  795 

118  195 

187 


II.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  PRODUCTION— Continued 

(VOLUME  IN  CUBIC  METERS) 


Country 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

11,750 

2,750 

* 

* 

* 

Rrn7il 

* 

37,005 

24,850 

41,400 

* 

* 

125,210 

104,265 

230,000 

594,000** 

1,031,000** 

Great  Britain              

25,530 

1,400 

* 

* 

Italy 

4,400 

21,400 

38,800 

* 

* 

3,000 

3,000 

* 

* 

8,780 

2,150 

* 

* 

United  States  

9,800 

2,130 

Total  

190,145 

193,745 

313,730 

1          

No  reliable  information  available. 
1  Approximate  estimate,  based  on  the  productive  capacity  of  the  Schutte-Lanz  and  Zeppelin  factories  only. 

188 


II.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  PRODUCTION— Continued 

(VOLUME  IN  CUBIC  METERS) 


Country 

1916 

1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

* 

* 

Brazil              

* 

* 

1,329,000** 

Great  Britain  

* 

Italy                

* 

* 

Russia      

* 

* 

• 

United  States                       

*  No  reliable  information  available. 
**  Approximate  estimate,  based  on  the  productive  capacity  of  the  Schutte-Lanz  and  Zeppelin  factories  only. 

i8g 


III.    THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS 


191 


III.    THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS  * 

On  August  1st,  1914 


BELGIUM 

2  SCHOOL  AIRSHIPS 

La  Belgique  (1909-14),  5  tons;  120  h.p.;  52  km—  Vivinus. 
Zodiac  (1910-14),  2  tons;  50  h.p.;  40  km.—  Zodiac. 

FRANCE 

7  FIRST  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 
Tissandier  (bldg.),  31  tons;  1,300  h.p.;  80  km.—  Lebaudy. 

27  tons:  li000  h>p-:  ^  km--Astra- 


/MJN    23  tons;  1,400  h.p.;  85  km.—  Clement-Bayard. 
(bldg.)J 

vii  (bid!')}  25  tons:  1>00°  h-p>:  m  km--Zodiac- 

6  SECOND  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

VIII  (bldg.),  19  tons;  1,200  h.p.;  80  km.—  Army  Works. 
Spiess  (1913),  18  tons;  400  h.p.;  70  km.—  Zodiac. 
Commandant-Coutelle  (1913),  11  tons;  400  h.p.;  62  km.—  Zodiac. 
Dupuy-de-L6me  (1912),  10  tons;  260  h.p.;  55  km.—  Clement-Bayard. 
Adjudant-Vincenot  (191  1-13),  10  tons;  260  h.p.;  56  km.—  Clement-Bayard. 
Lieut.  Selle-de-Beauchamp  (1910),  1  1  tons;  200  h.p.;  45  km—  Lebaudy. 


*  The  airships  herewith  listed  are  divided  into  vessels  of  first  class,  corresponding  to  the  French  cruiser  class  and  to  the  Italian 
grande  (large)  class;  second  class,  corresponding  to  the  French  eclaireur  (scout)  class  and  to  the  Italian  medium  class;  and  third  class, 
corresponding  to  the  French  vedette  class  and  to  the  Italian  piccolo  (small)  class. 

192 


III.     THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS— Continued 


4  THIRD  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

E.  Montgolfier  (1913),  7  tons;  160  h.p.;  69  km.— Clement-Bayard. 
Fleurus  (1912),  8  tons;  160  h.p.;  60  km.— Army  Works. 
Capitaine-Ferber  (191 1),  7  tons;  220  h.p.;  56  km. — Zodiac. 
Capitaine-Marchal  (1910),  8  tons;  160  h.p;  45  km.— Lebaudy. 

GERMANY 

15  FIRST  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

L.  4,  L.  7  (bldg.),  33  tons;  1,080  h.p.;  80  km.— Schutte-Lanz. 

L.  3  (1914),  L.  5,  L.  6  (bldg.);  30  tons;  800  h.p.;  85  km.-Zeppelin. 

S.  L.  II  (1914),  25  tons;  720  h.p.;  87  km.-Schutte-Lanz. 

Z.  VII  (1913),  Z.  VIII,  Z.  IX,  Z.  X  (bldg.);  24  tons;  600  h.p.;  80  km.-Zeppelin. 

Z.  IV,  Z.  V,  Z.  VI  (1913).  22  tons;  540  h.p.;  77  km.-Zeppelin. 

Z.  Ill  (1912),  Z.  II  (1910-1 1).  20  tons;  450  h.p.;  76  km.-Zeppelin. 

4  SECOND  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

P.  V  (1914),  13  tons;  400  h.p.;  75  km.-Parseval. 
M.  IV  (1913),  14  tons;  450  h.p.;  75  km.— Army  Works. 
P.  IV  (1913),  1 1  tons;  360  h.p.;  71  km.-Parseval. 
P.  Ill  (191 1),  1 1  tons;  400  h.p.;  65  km.-Parseval. 

2  THIRD  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

P.  II  (1910),  9  tons;  360  h.p.;  51  km.-Parseval. 
M.  I  (1912).  7  tons;  150  h.p.;  45  km.-Army  Works. 

103 


III.     THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS— Continued 


GREAT  BRITAIN 

2  FIRST  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 


No.  15  (bldg.).  27  tons. — Armstrong. 

No.  ?  (bldg.),  25  tons;  1,500  h.p.— Vickers  &  Maxim. 


9  SECOND  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

Three  of  13  tons;  200  h.p.;  72  km.;  building. — Armstrong-Forlanini. 
Three  of  13  tons;  360  h.p.;  75-80  km;  building.— Vickers-Parseval. 
No.  3  (1913)  and  one  building;  10  tons;  400  h.p.;  82  km— Astra. 
No.  2  (1913),  1 1  tons,  360  h.p.;  68  km.— Parseval. 

4  SCHOOL  AIRSHIPS 

Delta  (1912),  Eta  (1913);  5  tons;  200  h.p.;  45  km.— R.  Aircraft  Factory. 
Gamma  (1910);  2  tons;  100  h.p.;  45  km.— R.  Aircraft  Factory. 
Willows  ( 1 9 1 2) ;  1  ton ;  35  h.p. ;  45  km.— Willows. 

ITALY 

3  FIRST  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

G.  1-G.  2  (bldg.).  22  tons;  800  h.p.;  80  km.— Army  Works. 
One,  unnamed,  building,  27  tons;  1,000  h.  p.;  100  km. — Forlanini. 

6  SECOND  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

V.  1  (bldg.),  16  tons;  400  h.p.;  90  km.— Army  Works. 

M.  5,  M.  4  (bldg.),  M.  3,  M.  2  (1913),  M.  1  (1912);  13  tons.  500  h.p.;  70  km.— Army  Works. 

194 


III.     THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS— Continued 


2  THIRD  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

P.  4  (1912),  P.  5  (1913),  5  tons;  160  h.p.;  62-65  km.— Army  Works. 

JAPAN 

1  SECOND  CLASS  AIRSHIP 
Yuhi  (1912);  10  tons;  300  h.p.;  66  km.— Parseval. 

RUSSIA 

3  FIRST  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 

Three  25  ton,  1,000  h.p.  airships  building  at  Astra,  Clement-Bayard  and  Zodiac  respectively. 

6  SECOND  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 
Albatros  (1914),  10  tons;  300  h.p.;  61  km.— Ijora. 
"B"  (1913),  1 1  tons;  400  h.p.;  63  km.— Astra. 
"C"  (1913),  11  tons;  360  h.p.;  67  km.— Parseval. 
"D"  (1913),  10  tons;  360  h.p.;  55  km— Clement-Bayard. 
Two  building,  at  Ijora  and  Russo-Baltic,  respectiv  ly. 

2  THIRD  CLASS  AIRSHIPS 
Kretchet  (191 1),  6  tons,  200  h.  p.;  50  km.— Army  Works. 

Griff  (1910),  8  tons,  220  h.p.;  59  km.— Parseval. 

6  SCHOOL  AIRSHIPS 
Bercout,  Korchoune,  Kobtchik,  Sokol,  Tchaika,  Yastreb  (1909-12),  2-4  tons,  60-105  h.p.;  47  54  km. 

TURKEY 
1  SCHOOL  AIRSHIP 

No.  1  (1910-13),  2  tons;  50  h.p.;  40  km.— Parseval. 

195 


SCALE-DRAWN  SILHOUETTES 
OF   THE   PRINCIPAL   GERMAN   AIRSHIP   TYPES 


ZEPPELIN 


SCHUTTE-LANZ 


PARSEVAL 


196 


IV.     COMPARATIVE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS 


197 


IV.    COMPARATIVE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  MILITARY  AIRSHIP  FLEETS 

On  August  1st,  1914 

Germany  13  airships  of  237  tons,  commissioned. 

8  airships  of  21 1  tons,  building. 

France  9  airships  of    90  tons,  commissioned. 

8  airships  of  200  tons,  building. 

Russia  12  airships  of    74  tons,  commissioned. 

5  airships  of    95  tons,  building. 

Italy  5  airships  of    49  tons,  commissioned. 

6  airships  of  1 1 3  tons,  building. 

Great  Britain       6  airships  of    34  tons,  commissioned. 

9  airships  of  140  tons,  building. 

Japan  1  airship  of  1 0  tons,  commissioned. 

No  airship  building. 

United  States     No  airship  commissioned 
No  airship  building. 


V.    AIRSHIP  LOSSES  OF  THE  ALLIES 


199 


V.    AIRSHIP  LOSSES  OF  THE  ALLIES 

August  1st,  1914 — June  1st,  1917 

(Compiled  from  Official  Data) 

FRANCE 


No. 

Name 

Date 

Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

i 

D.  .. 

Sept.,  '14 

France 

Accident. 

2 

Alsace 

ID-VIS 

Rethel,  France 

Shot   down  by   German  guns. 

3 

T.  .. 

5-13-M6 

Porto  Torres,  Italy 

Caught  fire  and  blew  up,  killing  the  crew  of  six. 

4 

2-25-M7 

Sarreguemines,  Lorraine 

Shot  down  by  German  guns. 

GREAT  BRITAIN 


No. 

Name 

Date 

Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

i 
2 

7-28-'  15 
4-21-17 

Wormwood  Scrubs,  England 
Strait  of  Dover 

Blew  up  in  shed  during  inflation. 
Shot   down  by  German   seaplane. 

ITALY 


No. 

Name 

Date 

Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

i 

2 
3 
4 

M.  2 
P.  4 
M.  3 
P.  5 

6-8-M5 
8-5-15 
5-4-16 
8-12-16 

Fiume,  Hungary 
Pola,  Austria 
Gorizia,  Italy 
Campalto,  Italy 

Shot  down  by  Austrian  seaplane. 
Shot  down  by  Austrian  seaplane. 
Caught  fire  and  blew  up,  killing  the  crew  of  four. 
Destroyed  in  shed  by  Austrian  seaplanes. 

RUSSIA 


No. 

Name 

Date 

Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

l 

Apr.  27,  '17 

Stanislawow,  Galicia 

Shot   down    by 
Crew  saved. 

Austrian   guns  ;    fell 

in   Russian   lines. 

200 


VI.    GERMANY'S  AIRSHIP  LOSSES 


201 


VI.    GERMANY'S  AIRSHIP  LOSSES 

(August  1st,  1914— July  1st,  1917) 

OFFICIAL  LIST 

The  following  list  includes  only  airships:  (1)  officially  claimed  by  the  Allies  as  having  been  captured  or  destroyed  by 
their  forces  and  (2)  officially  acknowledged  by  Germany  as  having  been  lost. 


No. 

Name 

Date 

Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

1 

Z.  VIII 

Aug.  22.  1914 

Badonviller,  France 

Shot  down  by  French  artillery;  4  of  crew  taken  pris- 

oner. 

2 

? 

Sept   6,  1914 

Seradz,  Russia 

Captured   on   her   moorings   by   a   troop   of   Cossacks. 

Crew  taken  prisoner. 

3 

Z.  V 

Sept.  28,  1914 

Warsaw,  Russia 

Shot   down   by   Russian   artillery.      Crew   of    IS  taken 

prisoner. 

4 

P.  V 

Jan.     1,  1915 

Libava,  Russia 

Shot    down    by   Russian    artillery.      Crew    of    7    taken 

prisoner. 

5 

L.  3 

Feb.  17,  1915 

Fano  Island,  Denmark 

Stranded  and  broke  up.     Crew  of  16  were  interned. 

6 

L.  4 

Feb.  17,  1915 

Esbjerg,  Denmark 

Foundered  off  the  coast.     Four  of  the  crew  were  lost. 

12  were  interned. 

7 

L.  8 

March  5,  1915 

Tirlemont,  Belgium 

Broke  up  on  landing  by  night. 

8 

LZ.37 

June  9,  1915 

Ghent,  Belgium 

Destroyed  in  mid-air  bv  British  aeroplane.    Crew  killed 

in  fall. 

9 

L.  ? 

Aug.  10,  1915 

Ostende,  Belgium 

Destroyed  by  British  seaplanes  while  berthing. 

10 

Z.  ? 

Aug.  24,  1915 

Vilna,  Russia 

Shot   down   by   Russian   artillery.     Crew   of    10  taken 

prisoner. 

11 

Z.  ? 

Dec.    5,  1915 

Kalkun,  Russia 

Shot  down  by  Russian  artillery.     Crew  killed  in  fall. 

12 

L.  19 

Feb.    2,1916 

North  Sea 

Damaged  by  artillery,  while   raiding  England.     Foun- 

dered with  crew  of  16. 

13 

LZ.  77 

Feb.  21,  1916 

Revigny,  France 

Shot  down  by  French  artillery.      Crew  of  15  killed  in 

fall. 

14 

L.  15 

Apr.     1,1916 

Kentish  Knock,  England 

Shot  down  by   British  aeroplane.     Seventeen  of  crew 

taken  prisoner;  i  killed  in  fall. 

15 

L.  20 

May    3,  1916 

Stavanger,  Norway 

Stranded  and  broke  up.     Sixteen  of  crew  interned  ;   •; 

killed  in  fall. 

202 


VI.     GERMANY'S  AIRSHIP  LOSSES— Continued 


No. 

Name 

Date                              Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

16 

17 

L.    7 
LZ.  85 

May    4,  1916 
May    5,  1916 

Schleswig  Coast,  Germany 
Salonica,  Greece 

Shot  down  by  British  warships.     Seven  of  crew  taken 
prisoner. 
Shot  down  by  Allied  warships.    Crew  of  14  taken  pris- 
oner. 

18 

L.  21 

Sept.   3,  1916 

Cuffley,  England 

Shot  down  by  British  aeroplane.     Crew  of  18  killed  in 
fall. 

19 

L.  32 

Sept.  24,  1916 

Essex  County,  England 

Shot  down  by  British  aeroplane.     Crew  of  22  killed  in 
fall. 

20 
21 

L.  33 
L.  31 

Sept.  24,  1916 
Oct.     1,  1916 

Essex  County,  England 
Potter's  Bar,  England 

Shot   down  by   British  aeroplane.     Crew  of  22  taken, 
prisoner. 
Shot  down  by  British  aeroplane.     Crew  of  19  killed  in 
fall. 

22 
23 
24 

L.  ? 
L.  ? 
L.  39 

Nov.  27,  1916 
Nov.  28,  1916 
M'ch  17,  1917 

Off  Durham  Coast,  England 
Norfolk  Coast,  England 
Compiegne.  France 

Shot  down  by  British  aeroplanes.     Crew  killed  in  fall. 
Shot  down  by  British  aeroplanes.     Crew  killed  in  fall. 
Shot  down  by  French  artillery.     Crew  of  19  killed  in 
fall. 

25 
26 
27 

L.  22 
L.  43 

Z.  48 

May  14,  1917 
June  14,1917 
June  17,1917 

North  Sea 
North  Sea 
East  Coast  of  England 

Shot  down  by  British  seaplane.     Crew  killed  in  fall. 
Shot  down  by  British  warships.     Crew  killed  in   fall. 
Shot  down  by  British  aeroplane.    Five  of  the  crew  were 
taken  prisoner  ;  the  remainder  were  killed  in  the  fall. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

The  following  list  includes  airships  semi-officially  or  privately  reported  to  have  been  destroyed  by  Allied  forces  or  to 
have  been  otherwise  lost.  No  official  confirmation  of  these  losses  is  presently  available,  but  the  sources  of  information 
appear  on  the  main  as  fairly  reliable. 


No. 

Name 

Date 

Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

l 

Z.  ? 

Aug.    6,  1914 

Metz,  Germany 

Bombed  in  shed  by  French  aeroplane. 

2 

Z.  ? 

Oct.  10,  1914 

Diisseldorf,  Germany 

Bombed  in  shed  by  British  aeroplanes. 

3 

LZ.  31 

Nov.  21,  1914 

Friedrichshafen,  Germany 

Bombed  in  shed  by  British  aeroplanes. 

4 

P.  ? 

Dec.  24,  1914 

Brussels,  Belgium 

Bombed  in  shed  by  British  aeroplane. 

5 

P.  ? 

Dec.  25,  1914 

Cuxhaven,  Germany 

Bombed  in  shed  by  British  seaplanes. 

6 

? 

Jan.    23.  1915 

North  Sea 

Foundered  during  a  storm. 

7 

? 

Feb.  26,  1915 

Pola,  Austria 

Foundered  during  a  storm. 

203 


VI.     GERMANY'S  AIRSHIP  LOSSES— Continued 


No. 

Name 

Date 

Place 

Cause  of  Loss 

8 

1 

M'ch  5,  1915 

Cologne,  Germany 

Broke  up  on  landing  in  a  storm. 

9 

? 

M'ch  5,  1915 

Off  Calais,  France 

Lost  with  all  on  board. 

10 

Z.  ? 

Apr.  12,  1915 

Thielt,  Belgium 

Broke  up  on  landing.     Eleven  of  crew  killed. 

11 

? 

Apr.  26,  1915 

Gontrode,  Belgium 

Bombed  in  shed  by  French  aeroplanes. 

12 

? 

May  13,  1915 

Gierlesche,  Belgium 

Broke  up  on  stranding  in  a  wood. 

13 

? 

May  21,  1915 

Kdnigsberg,  Prussia 

Broke  away,  unmanned.     Foundered  off  Heligoland. 

14 

LZ. 

June    7,  1915 

Evere,  Belgium 

Bombed  in  shed  by  British  aeroplanes. 

15 

P.  ? 

June  16,  1915 

Adamello,  Austria 

Broke    up    on    stranding    against    a    mountain.      Crew 

killed. 

16 

? 

Aug.  17,  1915 

North  Sea 

Foundered  on  returning  from  a  raid  on  England. 

17 

? 

Sept.   8,  1915 

Brussels,  Belgium 

Broke  up  on  berthing  during  a  storm.     Four  of  crew 

killed. 

18 

? 

Oct.  13,  1915 

Saint-Hubert,  Belgium 

Blew  up  in  mid-air.     Crew  killed  in  fall. 

19 

L.  18 

Nov.  17,  1915 

Tondern,  Germany 

Blew  up  in  shed,  having  accidentally  been  set  on  fire. 

20 

? 

Nov..      1915 

Grodno,  Russia 

Damaged  by  Russian  artillery;  broke  up  on  landing. 

21 

Z.  28 

Nov..      1915 

Hamburg,  Germany' 

Foundered  during  a  storm. 

22 

P.  ? 

Nov.,      1915 

Bitterfeld,  Germany 

Broke  up  on  landing. 

23 

? 

Jan.  30.  1916 

Mainvault,  Belgium 

Damaged  by  French  aeroplane  over   Paris;   broke  up 

on  landing. 

24 

? 

Apr.  26,  1916 

Bruges,  Belgium 

Bombed  in  mid-air  by  French  aeroplane. 

25 

? 

May  10,  1916 

Veles,  Serbia 

Broke  up  on  landing  during  a  storm. 

26 

? 

July  20,  1916 

Tukkum,  Russia 

Damaged  by  Russian  artillery,  over  Riga;  broke  up  on 

landing. 

27 

? 

Sept.   3,  1916 

Off  Sylt,  Germany 

Damaged  by   British   artillery   while   raiding   London  ; 

foundered. 

28 

? 

Sept.  22,  1916 

Rheinau,  Germany 

Bombed  in  shed  by  French  aeroplanes. 

29 

? 

Nov.  21,  1916 

Mayence.  Germany 

Wrecked  by  a  storm.     Twenty-seven  of  the  crew  were 

killed,  i  was  saved. 

30 

? 

Dec.  28,  1916 

Tondern,  Germany 

1 

31 

? 

Dec.  28,  1916 

Tondern,  Germany 

>  Collided,  while  berthing. 

32 

? 

Apr.     1,  1917 

Odobesci,  Roumania 

Bombed  by  Russian  aeroplanes. 

33 

? 

Apr.  21.  1917 

Duisburg,  Germany 

Wrecked  by  a  storm.     Entire  crew  killed. 

204 


VII.    THE  GERMAN  AIRSHIP  RAIDS  ON  GREAT  BRITAIN 


205 


VII.    THE  GERMAN  AIRSHIP  RAIDS  ON  GREAT  BRITAIN 

(List  closed  on  July  1st,  1917) 


1915 


Date 


Raid  On 


Killed 


Injured 


Jan.  19  Yarmouth  and  District 4 

Apr.  14  Tyneside 

Apr.  15  Lowestoft  and  East  Coast 

Apr.  29  Ipswich  and  Bury  St.  Edmunds 

May  10  Southend 1 

May  16  Ramsgate 2 

May  27  Southend : 3 

May  31  Outer  London 6 

June  4  East  and  Southeast  Coasts 24 

June  6  East  Coast. — Zeppelin  LZ.  38  destroyed  on  return  trip  near  Ghent 5 

June  15  North-East  Coast 16 

Aug.  9  East  Coast. — Zeppelin  L.  10  destroyed  on  return  trip  off  Ostende 15 

Aug.  12  East  Coast .-..                6 

Aug.  17  Eastern  Counties 10 

Sept.  7  Eastern  Counties 17 

Sept.  8  Eastern  Counties  and  London  District 20 

Sept.  11  East  Coast 

Sept.  12  East  Coast 

Sept.  13  East  Coast 

Oct.  13  London  Area  and  Eastern  Counties 56* 

*  1 5  soldiers.  f 1 3  soldiers. 

Total. 


1 
8 
2 
3 

40 
40 
40 
14 
23 
36 
43 
86 


114f 


459 


Date 


1916 


Raid  On 


Killed 


Injured 


Jan.     31 

M'ch     5 
M'ch   31 


Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Lincolnshire,  Leicestershire,  Staffordshire  and  Derbyshire. — Zeppelin  L.  1 9,  dam 

aged  by  defense,  foundered  on  return  trip  in  the  North  Sea 

Yorkshire,  Lincolnshire,  Rutland,  Huntingdon,  Cambridgeshire,  Norfolk,  Essex,  and  Kent 

Eastern  Counties  and  North-East  Coast. 


67 
18 
43 


101 
52 
66 


206 


VII.     THE  GERMAN  AIRSHIP  RAIDS  ON  GREAT  BRITAIN— Continued 


1916 


Date 


Raid  On 


Apr.       1  North-East  Coast — Zeppelin  L.  15  brought  down  in  Thames 16 

Apr.       2  South-Eastern  Counties  of  Scotland 10 

Apr.       4  East  Coast 

Apr.       5  North-East  Coast 1 

Apr.     24  Norfolk  and  Suffolk 

Apr.     25  Essex  and  Kent 

Apr.     26  East  Kent  Coast 

May       2  North-East  Coast  of  England  and  South-East  Coast  of  Scotland 9 

July     29  Lincolnshire  and  Norfolk 

July     31  Southeastern  and  Eastern  Counties 

Aug.      3  Eastern  and  Southeastern  Counties 

Aug.      9  East  and  North-East  Coast 8 

Aug.    24  Northeastern  Coast 

Aug.     25  Southeastern  Coast  and  London  Area . . . . 8 

Sept.  2-3  Eastern  Counties  and  London  by  large  number  of  airships. — Schiitte-Lanz  L.  21  brought  down  at 

Cuffley 2 

Sept.  23-24  Lincolnshire,  Eastern  Counties  and  London  by  14  or  15  airships. — Zeppelin  L.  32  destroyed,  L.  33 

captured  in  Essex 38 

Sept.  25-26       East  and  North  Coasts 36 

Oct.    1-2  East  Coast  and  London  District  by  10  airships. — Zeppelin  L.  31  brought  down  at  Potters  Bar.  .                     1 

Nov.  27-28  Northeastern  and  Norfolk  Coast. — One  Zeppelin  destroyed  a  mile  off  Durham  coast,  and  anothe- 

nine  miles  off  Norfolk  coast 4 

241 

Total  for  1915  and  1916.    .  426 


Killed 


Injured 


100 

11 

8 
1 


27 

17 
36 
11 

125 

37 

1 

37 


620 


1,079 


1917 


Date 


Raid  On 


Killed 


Injured 


M'ch.    16-17    !     S.  E.  Coast  and  London  Area. — Zeppelin  L.  39  brought  down  on  return  trip,  near  Compiegne 

by  French  gunners 

May      23-24         Eastern  counties  by  5  airships 

June      16-17        Kent  and  East  Anglia  by  2  airships. — Zeppelin  Z.  43  destroyed  on  the  East  Caast 


16 


207 


THE  END  OF  A  RAIDER. 


208 


VIII.    THE  COMMERCIAL  AIRSHIP  FLEETS  OF  1914 


209 


THE  SCHWA  BEN  OF  THE  DELAG  LINE,  AND  HER  ACCOMMODATIONS. 

2IO 


VIII.     THE  COMMERCIAL  AIRSHIP  FLEETS  OF  1914 

FRANCE 

Compagnie  G^nerale  Transae"rienne,  Paris.— Established  in  March,  1909,  for  the  commercial  exploitation  of  Astra 
airships.  Fleet:  V ilk-de-Nancy  (1909),  4  tons,  and  ViUe-de-Pau  (1910),  5  tons.  Both  dismantled.  One  10  ton  airship 
ordered  in  1913. 

No  balance  sheet  available. 

GERMANY 

"Delag"  Line  (Deutsche  Luftschiffahrt  Aktien-Gesellschaft),  Frankfort-on-the-Main.— Established  in  November,  1909,  for 
the  commercial  exploitation  of  Zeppelin  airships.  Fleet:  Deulsch'and  (1910),  21  tons;  LZ.  6  (1908)  18  tons;  flcufacA- 
land-II  (1911),  21  tons;  Schwaben  (1911),  20  tons;  all  lost.  Viktoria-Luise  (1912),  Hansa  (1912),  Sachsen  (1913),  all 
of  21  tons.  The  three  latter  were  chartered  in  1914  by  the  German  Navy  and  placed  in  commission  as  training  airships 

BALANCE  SHEET,  1910-13 


Year 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

Nu                     '     h'                       sioned 

20) 

2(2) 

3(s) 

SCO 

39 

41 

62 

63 

690 

810 

1,080 

1,530 

35 

136 

302 

353 

41 

158 

392 

737 

4,167 

20,330 

52,924 

63,363 

33  h.  41  m. 

360  h.  38  m. 

932  h.  9  m. 

1,169  h.  42  m. 

868 

3,263 

8,299 

14,010 

2(') 

K5) 

1(6) 

— 



— 

Passengers  injured  

— 



" 

(!)  Deutschland  and  LZ.  6. 

(2)  Deutschland  II  and  Schwaben. 

(")  Schwaben,  V i\loria-Luise  and  Hansa. 

(')  Vil^loria-Luise,  Hansa  and  Sachsen. 

(5)  Deulschland  II. 

(6)  Schwaben. 


211 


IX.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS 


213 


MODEL  OF  A  GERMAN  AIRSHIP  SHED  WITH  DISAPPEARING  ROOF. 

214 


IX.    THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS 


Dimensions  are  given  in  metres  (m). 

In  the  column  "Type":  Dem.  =  demountable;  Sta.  =  stationary;  Rev.  =  revolving;  Flo.  =  floating. 

AUSTRIA 


Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

70 

20 

18 

Sta. 

1911 

70 

20 

18 

1909 

Cl 

70 

20 

18 

«( 

1911 

M 

120 

25 

20 

N 

1913 

Innsbruck            .        ....        .    . 

1914 

1914 

Prague  (or  Praha)   

1914 

» 

1914 

100 

M 

1913 

BELGIUM 


Place 

Owner 

Length 
(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Wilryck  (Antwerp)  

90 

18 

20 

Sta. 

1911 

u 

M 

70 

20 

20 

fi 

1912 

(Note. — During  the  German  "occupation  of  Belgium  a  large  number  of  airship  sheds  have  been  erected,  particularly  at  Brussels, 
Evere,  Ghent,  Liege,  Namur,  Ostende  and  Wavre,  most  of  which  are  over  1 50  m.  long  and  of  permanent  character.  The 
sheds  of  Wilryck  have,  furthermore,  been  lengthened.) 


r 


AIRSHIP  SHED  AT  LA  MOTTE-BREUIL  (FRANCE). 
216 


IX.    THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS— Continued 


FRANCE 


Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 
(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Army 

70 

Sta. 

1909 

Belfort    

100 

1911 

tt 

100 

1911 

ii 

100 

1912 

tt 

100 

1912 

130 

Sta. 

1906-13 

140 

tt 

1906-13 

Chalons-sur-Marne          

70 

tt 

1909 

M 

100 

tt 

1909 

M 

70 

Dem. 

1909 

tt 

70 

tt 

1909 

tt 

70 

tt 

1909 

100 

Sta. 

1912 

Astra 

90 

20 

20  ' 

tt 

1908 

M 

Clement-Bayard 

70 

20 

18 

tt 

1909 

La  Motte-Breuil 

tt                  tt 

80 

20 

18 

tt 

1909 

tt 

tt                  tt 

1914 

Army 

80 

tt 

1912 

Moisson      

Lebaudy 

70 

tt 

1900 

n 

M 

60 

tt 

1905 

tt 

Army 

130 

38- 

30 

tt 

1911 

Nancy                .    .        

70 

tt 

1908 

Pau                                                                

Astra 

80 

tt 

1910 

Reims  

Army 

100 

Sta. 

1911 

tt 

tt 

100 

tt 

1911 

tt 

tt 

130 

3Q 

20 

Rev. 

1914 

Astra 

90 

20 

20 

Sta. 

1906 

60 

tt 

1911 

tt 

tt 

160 

25 

24 

tt 

1913 

Toul 

Army 

100 

tt 

1912 

tt 

100 

tt 

1911 

tt 

tt 

100 

tt 

1911 

217 


AIRSHIP  SHED  AT  MANNHEIM  (GERMANY). 
218 


IX.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS— Continued 


GERMANY 


Place 

Owner 

Length 
On) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Aix-la-Chapelle  (Aachen) 

150 

Rev 

1914 

Allenstein  

150 

1914 

Baden-Oos  

Delag  Line 

158 

25 

25 

Sta 

1910 

Berlin-Biesdorf 

135 

25 

25 

Rev 

1909 

Berlin-Juntjf  ernheide  

150 

50 

30 

Sta 

1913 

Berlin-  Johannistal 

City 

82 

25 

25 

1908 

M 

"y 

163 

45 

28  5 

1911 

Berlin-Tegel  

50 

18 

20 

1905 

it 

70 

22 

1907 

ii 

14 

101 

25 

25 

1910 

Bitterfeld 

L   F  G 

75 

25 

25 

1908 

<( 

H 

100 

33 

25 

1909 

Braunschweig    . 

Citv 

180 

35 

28 

1914 

Bremen  

140 

40 

25 

1913 

Breslau  

150 

40 

25 

1913 

Cannstadt 

150 

40 

25 

1914 

Carlsruhe  

H 

150 

40 

25 

Cologne    Koln  -Bickendorf 

150 

50 

27  5 

1909 

Cologne-Nippes  

Clouth 

40 

16 

12  5 

1909 

Cuxhaven  

180 

75 

30 

Rev 

1913 

Darmstadt  

150 

50 

30 

ii 

1914 

Dresden  

City 

191  6 

58 

33 

Sta 

1914 

Diisseldorf  

ti 

152 

25 

24 

ii 

1910 

Emden  

150 

25 

25 

Rev 

1914 

Frankfort-on-the-Main  .    . 

160 

30 

24 

Sta 

1911 

Friedrichshafen  

180 

46 

20 

tt 

1908 

tt 

250 

1915 

Gotha  

City 

176 

26 

26 

tt 

1910' 

Graudenz  

150 

Rev 

1914 

Hannover  

Citv 

150 

25 

25 

1914 

Hamburg-Fuhlsbiittel  

80 

35 

25 

Sta 

1911 

tt 

Citv 

165 

51 

32 

ti 

1911 

Helgoland  

180 

60 

30 

1914 

tt 

ft 

tt  . 

1915 

Kiel  

Private 

170 

30 

25 

Sta 

1910 

Konigsberg  

170 

42 

38 

tt 

1911 

Lahr  

tt 

150 

40 

25 

Rev 

1914 

Leichlingen  

Private 

80 

23 

24 

Sta. 

1909 

2ig 


AIRSHIP  SHED  AT  FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN  (GERMANY) 

22O 


IX.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS— Continued 


Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Leipzig-Lindental 

120 

25 

20 

St-i 

Leipzig-Mockau  

City 

194 

69 

32  5 

tt 

Liegnitz  

150 

50 

30 

it 

150 

28 

95 

tt 

ii 

Mayence  (Mainz)  . 

City 

Metz  

Army 

150 

28 

25 

Sta 

a 

150 

28 

25 

tt 

Munich 

80 

25 

25 

tt 

n 

Posen  .       .    . 

n 

150 

Potsdam  

175 

50 

35 

tt 

M 

tt 

tt 

Putzig 

tt 

Schneidemuhl    ....'. 

150 

tt 

Strasbourg 

tt 

150 

28 

25 

Cltn 

Stuttgart  

City 

150 

Thorn  

150 

40 

M 

Tondern.  .    . 

180 

60 

Poir 

180 

60 

(( 

it 

it 

Treves  (Trier)  /  .    . 

Army 

176 

40 

35 

^ti 

Wanne  

Private 

100 

32 

OQ 

if 

Wilhelmshaven  

Navy 

180 

Rev. 

1915 

GREAT  BRITAIN 


Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Barrow-in-Furness  

164 

45 

00 

c*- 

Brighton  

60 

Farnborousrh 

tt 

60 

tt 

1911 

11 

tt 

90 

tt 

tt 

115 

tt 

Hoo-on-Medway  

164 

45 

00 

Kingsnorth  

164 

M 

00 

Wormwood  Scrubbs  . 

Private 

100 

tt 

1914 

M 

60 

1910 

221 


REVOLVING  SHED  AT  BERLIN-BIESDORF  (GERMANY). 


222 


IX.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS— Continued 


HOLLAND 


Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Soesterberg  (Utrecht)                             

Army 

60 

Sta. 

1911 

ITALY 


Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Alessandria  

Army 

68 

30 

23.6 

Sta. 

1913 

Baggio  (Milan)                                        

it 

92 

36 

27 

1911 

it 

91 

30 

24 

1910 

Bovisa  (Milan)      

Usuelli 

90 

1911 

84 

18 

21 

1909 

Navy 

110 

24 

32 

1911 

Ferrara 

Army 

110 

24 

32 

1911 

lesi  

Navy 

110 

24 

32 

1913 

Mapre  (Vicenza)         ...         ... 

1913 

103 

41 

35 

1909 

Schio                   

Da  Schio 

1909 

Tripoli  (Lybia) 

100 

25 

25 

1911 

Vigna  di  Valle  (Rome)  

tt 

71 

14 

20.6 

1907 

M 

it 

71 

14 

20.6 

1908 

M 

tt 

90 

22 

25.6 

1911 

JAPAN 


Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 
(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Makano 

80 

25 

20 

Sta. 

1910 

80 

20 

18 

it 

1910 

Tokorozawa  

100 

25 

22 

it 

1911 

n 

tt 

130 

30 

25 

tt 

1912 

223 


AIRSHIP  SHED  AT  BARROW-IN-FURNESS  (GREAT  BRITAIN). 

224 


IX.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS— Continued 


RUSSIA 


Place 


Berditcheff 

Brest-Litovsk    .  . 

it 

n 

Dvinsk 

Homel. 

Kieff 

Kovno 

Libava 

Lutsk 

Minsk 

Moscow 

Petrograd 

« 

14 
tt 

Reval 7 ... 

Riga 

u 

Salisi-Gatchina . 

u 

Sebastopol 

Sveaborg 

Vitebsk 

Vladivostok 

Warsaw.  . 


Owner 


Army 


Length 

(m) 

70 
166 

80 

80 
166 
166 

70 


70 
100 

80 
80 
80 
80 
50 
166 


70 
80 


70 


Width 

(m) 


20 
48 


48 
48 

20 

20 
25 


48 


Height 

(m) 


Type 


Year 


Sta. 


25 


1911 
1914 
1908 
1908 
1914 
1914 

1911 

1911 
1912 


1914 


1909 
1911 


225 


THE  SHED  OF  THE  PASADENA  AT  PASADENA,  CAL. 

226 


IX.     THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIP  SHEDS— Continued 


SPAIN 

Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Guadalajara                

Army 

M 

80 

15 

20 

Sta. 

H 

1908 
1914 

M 

SWITZERLAND 

Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Astra  Co. 

90 

Sta. 

1910 

TURKEY 

Place 

Owner 

Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

San  Stefano                                          

Army 

M 

52 
150 

15 

18 

Sta. 

(4 

1913 
1915 

M 

UNITED  STATES 


Place 

Owner 

Length 
(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Type 

Year 

Fort  Omaha,  Neb             

Army 

60 

Sta. 

1908 

Navy 

Flo. 

1915 

227 


THE  U.   S.   NAVY   FLOATING  SHED  AT  PENSACOLA,   FLA. 


228 


INDEX  OF  THE  WORLD'S  AIRSHIPS 


NOTE. — The  letter,  or  group  of  letters,  bracketed  after  each  airship's  name  indicates  the  latter's  registry,  regardless  of  the  builder's  nationality  or  of  the  country 
in  which  the  airship  was  built.  "The  registry  of  an  aircraft  is  determined  by  the  nationality  of  its  owner."  (Code  of  the  Air,  Article  III.) 

ABBREVIATIONS.— B,  Belgium;  BR,  Brazil;  D,  Germany;  DM,  Denmark;  E,  Spain;  F,  France;  GB,  Great  Britain;  I,  Italy;  J,  Japan;  ML,  Netherlands;  OE,  Aus- 
tria; R,  Russia;  T,  Turkey;  US,  United  State- 


A 

Adjudant-Reau  (P),  21,  66,  67,  68. 

Adjudant-Vincenot  (F),  72,  73,  74. 

Akron  (US),  177,  178. 

Albatros  (R),  171. 

Alfonso  XIII  (E),  173. 

Alsace  (F),  200. 

America  (US),  79,  80. 

American  Eagle  (US),  183,  184. 

Astra-Torres  I  (F),  27,  64,  65,  66,  68. 

Ausonia  (I),  164,  165. 

Austria  (OE),  54,  57. 

B 

Baby  (GB),  150,  151. 
Baldwin-6,  -9  (US),  175. 
Bartholomeo-de-Gusmao  (BR),  95. 
Barton  (GB),  147,  148. 
Baumgartner  (D),  103. 
Beedle  (GB),  149. 
Bell  (GB),  149. 
Berkout  (R),  63. 
Beta  (GB),  151,  152. 
Boemches  (OE),  53. 
Bradsky  (D),  71,  76. 
Buchanan  (GB),  149. 


Capitaine-Ferber  (F),  98,  101. 
Capitaine-Marchal  (F),  82,  84,  86,  87. 


Castor-et-Pollux  (F),  88,  89. 
Charlotte  (D),  106,  in. 
Citta  di  Ferrara  (I),  159. 
Citta  di  lesi  (I),  159. 
Citta  di  Milanp  (I),  162,  163. 
Citta  di  Venezia  (I),  no,  113. 
City-of-Cardiff  (GB),  157,  158. 
Clement-Bayard  I  (F),  63,  71. 
Clement-Bayard  II  (GB),  71,  72. 
Clouth  (D),  104,  105. 
Colonel-Renard  (F),  63,  68. 
Commandant-Coutelle  (F\  98,  101. 
Conte  (F),  66,  67. 

D 

Davis  (US),  99. 

Debayeux  (F),  75. 

Delta  (GB),  152,  153. 

De  Margay  (F),  75. 

Deutschland  (D),  127,  131. 

Deutschland  II  (D),  131. 

Dirigible  II  (GB),  151. 

DN-i  (US),  176,  177. 

DN-2,  DN-3  (US),  38,  177. 

DN-4— DN-6  (US),  175. 

DN-7— DN-is  (US),  179,  182. 

DN-i6,  DN-I7  (US),  179. 

Dorhofer  (D),  107. 

DR-i  (US),  183. 

Duindigt  (NL),  98,  99. 

Dupuy-de-L6me  (F),  24,  72,  73,  76,  77. 


229 


E.  Montgolfier  (F),  72,  73. 
Espana  (E),  65. 
Estaric  (OE),  55. 
Eta  (GB),  153. 
Eubriot  (F),  77. 


F.  i,  F.  2  (R),  170,  171. 
F.  3,  F.  5,  F.  6  (I),  165. 
Faure  (F),  95. 
Fionia  (DM),  59. 
Fleurus  (F),  58,  60,  61. 


G.  i,  G.  2  (I),  161. 
Gamma  (GB),  152,  153. 
Gaudron  (GB),  149. 
General-Meusnier  (E),  61. 
Giffard  No.  i,  No.  2  (F),  78,  79. 
Goloub  (R),  170,  171. 
Griff  (R),  29,  108,  no,  in. 


H 


H.  i  (D),  175- 
Haemein  (D),  52,  53. 
Hansa  (D),  133. 


Italia  I,  II  (I),  161,  163,    164. 


Kiel  I  (D),  125. 
Kobtchik  (R),  171. 
Korchoune  (R),  101. 
Kretchet  (R),  85,  169. 


L.  i  (D),  133,  136. 
L.  2  (D),  135-  138- 
L.  3  (D),  137- 
L.  4  (D),  121. 
L.  5  (D),  139- 


L.  6  (D),  139- 

L.  7  (D),  121. 

L.  8— L.  10  (D),  139. 

L.  ii — L.  19  (D),  140,  141. 

L.  20  (D),  141,  142,  143. 

L.  21  (D),  121. 

L.  22 — L.  29  (D),  141. 

L.  30 — L.  40  (D),  143. 

L.  43  (D),  203. 

La  Belgique  (B),  56,  57. 

La  France  (F),  58,  59. 

L.  A.  G.  I,  II  (D),  115. 

L'Aigle  (F),  87. 

Lebaudy-I,  -II,  -III,  -IV  (F),  81,  82,  83. 

Lebedj  (R),  85. 

Le  Compagnon,  (F),  89. 

Leichlingen  (D),  116,  117. 

Leonardo  da  Vinci  (I),  162,  163. 

Le  Temps  (F),  98,  101. 

Liberte  (F),  82,  85. 

Lieutenant-Chaure  (F),  65. 

Lieutenant-Selle-de-Beauchamp  (F),  87. 

LZ.  4  (D),  129,  130. 

LZ.  5  (D),  129,  132. 

LZ.  6  (D),  129,  134. 

LZ.  77  (D).  137- 

LZ.  85  (D),  139. 


M 


M.  I  (D),  114,  115. 
M.  II  (D),  115. 
M.  Ill  (D),  114,  117. 
M.  IV  (D),  114,  117. 
M.  I,  M.  II  (OE),  55. 
M.  Ill  (OE),  31,  52,  53- 
M.  i  (I),  159,  160. 
M.  2  (I),  159,  160. 
M.  3  (I),  160,  161. 
M.  4  (I),  160,  161. 
M.  5  (I),  160,  161. 
M-a  (D),  115. 
Malecot  (F),  88,  95. 


230 


Mayfly  (GB),  45,  154,  155. 
Mediterraneen-II  (F),  75. 
Mellin  (GB),  148,  153. 
Morrell  (US),  181,  184. 
Morning-Post  (GB),  85. 


N 


No.  i  (GB),  45,  154,  155. 
No.  2  (GB),  112,  113. 
No.  2A  (GB),  151. 
No.  3  (GB),  32,  67. 
No.  4  (GB),  157,  158. 
No.  I,  i-bis  (I),  157. 
No.  i  (US),  174,  175. 
Nulli-Seciindus  (GB),  150,  151. 


Outchebny  (R),  169. 


P.  I  (D),  106,  105. 
P.  II  (D),  106,  109. 
P.  Ill  (D),  III. 
P.  IV  (D),  113. 
P.  V  (D),  113. 
P.  i— P.  5  (D.  159,  160. 
Pasadena  (US),  180,  181. 
Patrie  (F),  82,  83. 
Pax  (BR),  94,  95- 
Petit-Journal  I,  II  (F),  99. 
Pilatre-de-Rozier  (F),  69. 
PL.  i  (D),  106,  107. 
PL.  5  (D),  108,  109. 
PL.  9  (D),  108,  in. 
PL.  10  (D),  in. 
Preble-Rekar  (US),  183. 


O 
P 


R.  I-III  (D),  119. 
Republique  (F),  83. 
Robert-Fillet  (F),  89. 
Russie  (R),  85. 


Sachsen  (D),  135. 

Santa  Cruz  (BR),  59. 

Santos- Dumont  No.  1-16  (BR),  90-93. 

Schwaben  (D),  5,  131,  210. 

Schwarz  No.  I  (OE),  123. 

Schwarz  No.  2  (OE),  116,  123. 

SL.  I  (D),  43,  118,  119,  120. 

SL.  II  (D),  116,  121. 

SL.  Ill  (D),  121. 

Sokol  (R),  171. 

Spencer  II  (GB),  153. 

Spiess  (F),  100,  101. 

SS.  I  (D),  31,  122,  124,  125. 

S.  S.  type  (GB),  69,  70. 

Stollwerck  (D),  108,  109. 

Suchard  (D),  102,  104,  105. 


Tchaika  (R),  101. 
Tissandier  (F),  87,  96,  97. 
Toliver  (US),  183. 
Tomlinson  (US),  175. 
Torres-Quevedo  (E),  172,  173. 


U 


Unger  (D),  125. 
Usuelli  (I),  164,  165. 


V.  I  (I),  161. 
Veeh  I  (D),  104,  107. 
Viktoria-Luise  (D),  133. 
Ville-de-Bordeaux  (F),  63. 
Ville-de-Bruxelles  (B),  65,  66. 
Ville-de-Lucerne  (F),  65. 
Ville-de-Nancy  (F),  63. 
Ville-de-Paris  (F),  61,  62,  96,  97. 
Ville-de-Pau  (F),  62,  65. 
Ville-de-Saint-Mandd  (F),  77. 


231 


w 

Willows  No.  i-No.  5  (GB),' 155-158. 

Y 

Yamada  No.  1,2  (J),  166,  167. 
Yastreb  (R),  168,  169. 
Yuhi  (J),  III. 

Z 

Z.  I  (D),  129,  133,  135- 
Z.  II  (D),  129,  131,132- 


Z.  Ill  (D),  133. 

Z.  IV  (D),  135,  136. 

Z.  V  (D),  135. 

Z.  VI-XIII  (D),  137. 

Z.  48  (D),  203. 

Zeppelin  I  (D),  126,  127. 

Zeppelin  II  (D),  127,  128. 

Zeppelin  III  (D),  128,  129. 

Zodiac  (B),  99. 

Zodiac  (F),  99. 

Zorn  (D),  147. 


232 


YC  68298 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


